geo.wikisort.org - Island

Isola Bella (lit. 'beautiful island') is one of the Borromean Islands of Lago Maggiore in North Italy. The island is situated in the Borromean Gulf 400 metres from the lakeside town of Stresa. Isola Bella is 320 metres long by 400 metres wide and is divided between the Palace, its Italianate garden, and a small fishing village.

Isola Bella

Aerial view in 2017
Geography
Location	Lago Maggiore
Archipelago	Borromean Islands
Area	0.20 km2 (0.077 sq mi)
Length	0.32 km (0.199 mi)
Width	0.18 km (0.112 mi)
Administration
Italy
Region	Piedmont
Province	Verbano-Cusio-Ossola

History

Until 1632 the island—known only as l’isola inferiore or isola di sotto[1]—was a rocky crag occupied by a tiny fishing village: but that year Carlo III of the influential House of Borromeo began the construction of a palazzo dedicated to his wife, Isabella D'Adda, from whom the island takes its name. He entrusted the works to the Milanese Angelo Crivelli, who was also to be responsible for the planning the gardens. The works were interrupted around midcentury when the Duchy of Milan was struck by a devastating outbreak of the plague.

Construction resumed when the island passed to Carlo’s sons, Cardinal Giberto III (1615–1672) and Vitaliano VI (1620–1690); the latter in particular, with the financial backing of his elder brother, entrusted the completion of the works to the Milanese architect Carlo Fontana and turned the villa into a place of sumptuous parties and theatrical events for the nobility of Europe.

The completion of the gardens, however, was left to his nephew Carlo IV (1657–1734). They were inaugurated in 1671.

The island achieved its highest level of social success during the period of Giberto V Borromeo (1751–1837) when guests included Edward Gibbon, Napoleon and his wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, and Caroline of Brunswick, the Princess of Wales. It is said that Caroline, having fallen in love with the place, did her best to convince the Borromeo family to sell her Isola Madre or the Castelli di Cannero islands; her request being turned down, she established herself on the banks of Lake Como at Cernobbio in the Villa d’Este.

A conference of high representatives of Italy, France and the United Kingdom was held in the palace at Isola Bella in April 1935, resulting in the agreement known as the Stresa Front.

The island today

Isola Bella is a popular tourist attraction, with a regular ferry service from Stresa, Laveno, Pallanza and Intra. It plays host to the annual Stresa music festival.

Notes

References

This article was originally translated from the Italian Wikipedia’s Isola Bella, as retrieved 13:17, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

• Storia dell'Isola Bella (in Italian) (Cited by the Italian Wikipedia article.)

Further reading

• Attlee, Helena (2006). Italian Gardens - A Cultural History (paperback). London: Frances Lincoln. pp. 240 pages. ISBN 978-0-7112-3392-8.
• Desmond, Steven (2016). Gardens of the Italian Lakes (Hardback). London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 978-0-7112-3630-1. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help)

На других языках

---

[de] Isola Bella (Lago Maggiore)

Die Isola Bella (deutsch: ‚schöne Insel‘) ist eine Insel im Lago Maggiore. Sie zählt zu den Borromäischen Inseln und findet sich im Borromäischen Golf des Sees, etwa 400 Meter vor der Gemeinde Stresa. Sie ist 320 Meter lang und 180 Meter breit, im Nordwesten ist sie bebaut mit dem Palazzo Borromeo, an den sich im Südosten die Gartenanlagen des Palastes anschließen. Seit dem 12. Jahrhundert befinden sich die Inseln bis heute im Besitz der Familie Borromeo.

---

- [en] Isola Bella (Lago Maggiore)

---

[fr] Isola Bella

Isola Bella est une des Îles Borromées, sur le lac Majeur. Située dans le golfe Borromée, à 400 m environ au large de la ville de Stresa, elle mesure 320 m de longueur sur 180 m de largeur. Isola Bella, dont le nom vient de celui de la comtesse Isabelle Borromée (Isabella Borromeo), est entièrement occupée par le palais Borromeo et ses jardins[1].

---

[it] Isola Bella (Lago Maggiore)

L'Isola Bella (in dialetto locale Isola Bela) è situata nel lago Maggiore, fa parte del gruppo delle cosiddette Isole Borromee e si trova nel golfo dedicato alla nota famiglia che ancora ne ha la proprietà, a circa 400 metri al largo di Stresa. Misura 320 metri di lunghezza e 180 di larghezza ed è in gran parte occupata dal giardino all'italiana del palazzo Borromeo, che occupa la costa sud-orientale dell'isolotto.

---

[ru] Изола-Белла (Лаго-Маджоре)

Изола-Белла (итал. Isola Bella — красивый остров) — один из Борромейских островов на озере Лаго-Маджоре[1] в Италии. Расположен напротив (в 400 метрах) от прибрежного городка Стреза.

---

---