Isola Bella (Lake Maggiore)
| Isola Bella | ||
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| Waters | Lake Maggiore | |
| Archipelago | Borromean Islands | |
| Geographical location | 45 ° 53 '43 " N , 8 ° 31' 38" E | |
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| length | 320 m | |
| width | 180 m | |
| surface | 6.4 ha | |
| Residents | 36 563 inhabitants / km² |
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The Isola Bella (German: 'beautiful island') is an island in Lake Maggiore . It is one of the Borromean Islands and can be found in the Borromean Gulf of the lake, about 400 meters from the municipality of Stresa . It is 320 meters long and 180 meters wide, in the north-west it is built on with the Palazzo Borromeo , to which the gardens of the palace adjoin in the south-east.
history
Until 1632 the isola inferiore or isola di sotto 'lower island' was a rocky elevation on which a small fishing village stood. Carlo III. Borromeo began leveling the rock and building a palace on the island for his wife, Isabella D'Adda . The island Isola Isabella was named after her, and over the years the name was shortened to Isola Bella . The Milanese builder Angelo Crivelli , who was also responsible for the gardens, was entrusted with the construction . Work had to pause in the middle of the 17th century when a plague epidemic struck the Duchy of Milan .
Work then resumed under the rule of Carlos' successor. Cardinal Giberto III. (1615-1672) and Vitaliano VI. (1620–1690) continued to build on the facilities. Vitaliano in particular put considerable funds into the work, for which he won the Milanese architect Francesco Maria Richini and the Roman architect Carlo Fontana and which were mainly financed with funds from his brother. In the palace, which was finally inaugurated in 1671, great festivals and theatrical performances for the European nobility were held. At this time Vitaliano also had the terraced gardens laid out. The planned large port at the northern end of the island was never built.
Vitalianos successor was his nephew Carlo IV. Borromeo Arese (1657-1734). Famous guests visited the island under Giberto V. Borromeo (1751–1837): Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife Joséphine spent two nights on the island, as did the Princess of Wales, Caroline of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel , who later became Queen Caroline of England. During her stay, she fell so in love with the place - according to an anecdote - that she tried everything to get the Borromeans to sell her the Isola Madre or the Castelli di Cannero .
In his novel Titan (published 1800-1803), Jean Paul lets the main character Albano de Zesara spend the first three years of his life on Isola Bella in the Borromeo Palace and he repeatedly returns there.
Attractions
Isola Bella is one of the major tourist attractions on Lake Maggiore today. It can be reached by boat from Stresa, Baveno and other places on Lake Maggiore and attracts numerous visitors every year.
The Palazzo Borromeo and its gardens are an example of baroque art. In the palace you will find salons with views of the lake, numerous paintings by famous artists, precious furniture, marble, neoclassical stucco, ancient sculptures, armor and Flemish tapestries with gold thread and silk. In the basement there are several shell grottos with light and dark stone and shell decorations. The gardens are in the shape of stairs and pyramids based on ancient models and are bordered with balustrades on which numerous statues of mythological heroes and animals are distributed. The gardens are home to all kinds of exotic flowers, plants, trees and fruits. A small orangery is also part of it.
On the west bank of Isola Bella there are still a few houses at the foot of the palace and garden wall, which house several restaurants, souvenir shops and the ship landing stage.
Picture gallery
Isola Bella, view from 1837
palace
Side view
patio
park
Houses at the foot of the palace and garden wall, view from 1957
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literature
- Sandro Chierichetti, Gino Rigati: Art and nature on Isola Bella: travel guide . Preda Abele, Milano ca.1976.
- NN: Isola Bella. Illustrated Guide-Book . Editioni Grafiche Reggiori, Cittiglio (Varese) 2000.
- Barbara Schmidt-Nechl: Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore. The development of a garden island in the Seicento . In: The garden art . Volume 11, No. 2, 1999, pp. 240-267.
Web links
- Isole Borromee on isoleborromee.it/ger
- Breve storia della nascita ed evoluzione del palazzo e dei giardini borromei
- Isola Bella (Lake Maggiore) on the ETHorama platform
Single receipts
- ↑ Pirata: Isola Bella , Italian, accessed June 28, 2018.
- ↑ “On Isola bella he had the first three earthly years with his sister who went to Spain, and next to his mother who went underground, lying in the middle of the tall flowers of nature, sweetly and dreamy - the island was for him Morning slumber of life, Raphael's overpainted bedchamber for his childhood. "(Titan, 1st Jobel period, 1st cycle , p. 14)