Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
combined ticket with Isola Madre €18/8, Galleria dei Quadri €3; 9am-5.30pm Apr-mid-Oct)
, was
built for the Borromeo family. Construction of the villa and gardens was thought out in
such a way that the island would have the appearance of a ship, with the villa at the prow
and the gardens dripping down 10 tiered terraces at the rear. Well-known guests have in-
cluded Napoleon and Josephine in 1797 (you can see the bed they slept in), and Prince
Charles and Princess Diana in 1985. A separate ticket gives you access to the
Galleria dei
Quadri
(Picture Gallery; admission €3), a series of halls covered from top to bottom with
the Borromeo art collection which includes Rubens, Titian, Paolo Veronese and Andrea
Mantegna.
Below ground a 3000-year-old fossilised boat is displayed in the palace grottoes
,
which
themselves are studded with pink marble, lava stone and pebbles from the lake bed. Out-
side, white peacocks strut through one of the finest examples of baroque Italian garden
design.
Elvezia
( 0323 3 00 43; meals €30-35; noon-2pm & 6.30-9pm Tue-Sun Mar-Oct, Fri-Sun only
Nov-Feb)
is the place for authentic family cooking.
ISOLA MADRE
All of Isola Madre is taken up by the fabulous 16th- to 18th-century
Palazzo Madre
(
0323 3 05 56; adult/child incl gardens €11/5.50, combined ticket with Isola Bella €18/8; 9am-6pm Mar-
Oct)
and its gardens. The latter is brimming with azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias and hi-
biscus and is home to white peacocks and vibrant-coloured Chinese pheasants. Palace
highlights include a neoclassical puppet theatre designed by a scenographer from Milan's
La Scala, and a 'horror' theatre with a cast of devilish marionettes.
ISOLA SUPERIORE (PESCATORI)
Lacking any real sights, tiny 'Fishermen's Island' retains much of its original village at-
mosphere. Apart from an 11th-century apse and a 16th-century fresco in the
Chiesa di San
Vittore
, there isn't anything to see; hence many visitors make it their port of call for lunch.
Restaurants cluster around the boat landing, all serving grilled fish fresh from the lake
from around €15.
If you want to stay on the island,
Albergo Belvedere
(
0323 3 22 92;
www.belvedere-isol-
)
has rooms with balconies overlooking the lake.
apescatori.it
;
Isola Superiore; r €99-199;
