Weddings
by Manara
Italian laws state that civil weddings can be celebrated only in the town hall, or another building chosen by the municipality specifically for the celebration of weddings. In Stresa, the Town Hall is not a very interesting or romantinc building, as you can see from the picture.
In 2004, a wedding involving famous people was celebrated on the Isola dei Pescatori. It was possible because the bride was Lavinia Borromeo, of the family that still owns the islands of Lago Maggiore. That famous wedding caused a great demand for a romantic setting for weddings, so the municipality of Stresa designated a certain building on the Isola dei Pescatori to be used for that purpose. However, only those who are resident on the island can have their wedding there for free. Residents of Stresa have to pay EUR 500 for the privilege, and non-residents EUR 1000.
The Mottarone Cable Car
by SarahHardy
The summit of the Mottarone peak is 1491m and can be reached by the cable car which leaves every 20 minutes from the Lido in Stresa. The journey is in 2 halves with a stop at the Alpino gardens (small entry fee, closed Mondays). As you can see from my picture, the views from the top are incredible!!! You can see up to 7 lakes from the top on a clear day. There are some mountain restaurants at the top where you can get a bowl of pasta or a sandwich. You can get a return journey on the cable car or it is also possible to walk down. If you are into mountain biking then you can take your bike up on the cable car and cycle back down.
Borromeo Family Palace - Isola Bella
by Mikebb
The Borromeo family are one of the richest families in Italy and have controlled land and Lake Maggiore for hundreds of years. This Palace was built by one of the Borromeo men for his wife and has 260 rooms , most filled with treasures acquired over centuries. Our tour was to see 16 of the rooms which are open to the public from the end of March to mid October. This palace is still used as a summer residence by the family and judging by the rooms we viewed one can only imagine what treasures are contained in the family's rooms.
We had a local guide take us through, he told us he grew up on Isola dei Pescatori ( Fishermans Island) and had worked for the family for many years. Of the 16 rooms we viewed all had a Murano chandelier, each valued at $360,000 or more and each room in the palace had a chandelier. There were statutes, fine furniture, pottery etc in each room on display . We quickly walked through the elaborate gardens, beautifully landscaped with excellent views of the lake. As there was heavy rain we were disappointed at having to leave the garden to obtain shelter.
More birds of Madre
by ChrsStrl
The birds on the island are, literally, dazzling. It seems that not only do white and the more usual blue-green peacock wander freely here, so, too, do golden, silver & emperor pheasants! A colony of parrots also lives freely here, though the small green one we saw outside the cage seemed most anxiously trying to commune with those within!
Isoal Bella gardens - "the great bed"
by ChrsStrl
One weaves through further rooms of little difference to the ones seen previously (and one suspects, given the carefully-planned & intricate one way system in the palace that occasionally divides rooms into two, that indeed this is the case) and through two doors and up the steps to the garden, to this unbelievable sight.
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Napoleans room when visiting
boat taxi to the islands
Approaching the Alpino cablecar station from above
View from the restaurant
