Stresa

Stresa
Comune
Comune di Stresa
Stresa and Lake Maggiore

Coat of arms
Stresa
Location of Stresa in Italy
Coordinates: 45°53′N 8°31′E / 45.883°N 8.517°E / 45.883; 8.517Coordinates: 45°53′N 8°31′E / 45.883°N 8.517°E / 45.883; 8.517
Country Italy
Region Piedmont
Province Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (VB)
Frazioni Brisino, Carciano, Levo, Binda, Passera, Someraro, Vedasco, Magognino, Stropino, Alpino, Mottarone, Isola Bella, Isola Pescatori.
Government
 • Mayor Canio Di Milia
Area
 • Total 33 km2 (13 sq mi)
Elevation 200 m (700 ft)
Population (30 September 2008)
 • Total 5,155
 • Density 160/km2 (400/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Stresiani
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 28838
Dialing code 0323
Patron saint Ambrose
Website Official website

Stresa is a town and comune of about 5,000 residents on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, about 90 kilometres (56 mi) northwest of Milan. It is situated on road and rail routes to the Simplon Pass.

History

The Grand Hotel in Stresa

The name of this town first appeared in documents in AD 998.

In the 15th century it grew into a fishing community and owed feudal allegiance to the Visconti family. It subsequently came under the control of the Borromeo family. In 1948 American author and journalist Ernest Hemingway visited the town. He had set part of his 1929 novel Farewell to Arms in the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromees. In 2002 Stresa hosted the 10th International Hemingway Conference.

Stresa has played host to a number of political conferences in the 20th century, including in:

Stresa is also the venue for the "Settimane Musicali"; an international classical music festival which is held annually in the summer.

The cable car to Monte Mottarone

Transport

Regular boat services from the town's two docks provide access to the nearby Borromean Islands. The cable-car offers a 20-minute ride to the summit of Monte Mottarone, with the Giardino Botanico Alpinia en route. Eurocity services connect to Milano, Berne and Geneva.

Main sights

Villa Pallavicino
  • Villa Ducale, commissioned by Giacomo Filippo Bolongaro and dating from about 1770. In 1848 the villa passed to the Italian philosopher Antonio Rosmini-Serbati and today it houses the International Centre for Rosminian Studies.
  • Villa Dell'Orto, built in 1900. It was commissioned by the painter Liberto Dell'Orto and designed by Boffi.
  • The large Villa Pallavicino, between Stresa and Belgirate. It was the inspiration of Ruggero Bonghi in the 1850s and now is the site of a zoological park.
  • The church of S. Ambrogio (restored in Neoclassical style by Giuseppe Zanoia in 1790)
A panorama of Lake Maggiore from Stresa pier
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