Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Coming from Milan, take the A8/A26 motorway, following signs for Gravellona. To fol-
low the lake road, exit the autostrada at Castelleto del Ticino. From there, the SS33 hugs
the shore to Arona, Stresa and Baveno. From Feriolo, the SS34 continues the lakeside run
to the Swiss border (where it becomes route 13 to Locarno and beyond).
Parking in Stresa can require patience and is mostly metered.
TRAIN
Stresa is 1¼ hours from Milan (from €8) on the Domodossola-Milan train line. Domodos-
sola (€3.35 to €9), 30 minutes northwest, is on the Swiss border, from where the train line
leads to Brig and on to Geneva.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Arona
POP 14,547
It was in Arona, 20km south of Stresa, that the son of the Count of Arona and Margherita
de' Medici, who would go on to be canonised San Carlo Borromeo (1538-84), was born.
In 1610 he was declared a saint and his cousin, Federico, ordered the creation of a
sacro
monte
(holy mountain), with 15 chapels lining a path uphill to a church dedicated to the
saint. The church and three of the chapels were built, along with a special extra atop the
Sacro Monte di San Carlo
( 0322 24 96 69; Piazza San Carlo; admission €4; 9am-12.30pm & 2.30-6pm Mar-
Oct, to 4.30pm Sat & Sun Nov-Feb; ; Arona)
: a hollow, 35m bronze-and-copper statue of San
Carlo. Commonly known as the Sancarlone (Big St Charles) or the Colosso di San Carlo
(St Charles Colossus) and erected between 1614 and 1698, it can be climbed, affording a
spectacular view from the top. You climb spiral stairs to a platform surrounding the giant's
feet. There you will be handed a miner's-type helmet and wait in a queue to head up. It's a
bit of a vertiginous ascent and children under six years old are not allowed up.
To reach this hill, with nice views over the south end of Lake Maggiore and across to
the Rocca di Angera, walk or drive about 2km west from Piazza del Popolo, Arona's most
charming piazza. The broad square, with its little marina, sits pretty on the lake and offers
several restaurants and cafes for a post-Sancarlone break.
Information
Arona Tourist Office
(
0322 24 36 01; Piazzale Duca d'Aosta;
9.30am-12.30pm Mon-Wed, 9.30am-12.30pm
& 3-6pm Thu-Sat)
