East Shore
There aren't many interesting things on the East Coast, although evenly distributed small resorts are convenient bases for relaxation by the lake and trips to the mountains.
Located in the north, the small town of MACCAGNO is not distinguished by anything special, but it is relatively calm. On the shore among the trees is located Camping Park (*0332/560203; V-IX), which is used by tourists sailing on the lake by boats. There are also some relatively inexpensive hotels here: Pensione Paradiso on Via Verdi (*0332/560128) with double rooms after 28 OOOL, slightly cheaper Maccagno on the main road (*0332/560141; 27 OOOL too simple, old-fashioned double room) and the best of them, Italia (*0322/ 560182; full maintenance 40 OOOL).
Slightly larger than Maccagno, industrial city and tourist resort LUINO, is even less attractive and there is no reason to go there, unless it's Wednesday and you want to shop at the market. It is better to go by car ferry from Intra to LAVENO, known from the ceramic industry. One of the peculiarities of the town is the underwater crypt illuminated at Christmas, and the ceramics museum is open all year round (3 Miles. further, in CERRO; codz. 10.00-12.00 and 14.00-18.00; 1000L), fascinating not only for those interested. Some exhibits reach the peak of kitsch and lack of taste, for example. green gold-plated pots for aspidistra, a toilet bowl decorated from the inside with idyllic scenes and an Art Nouveau bidet set on a leaf stand.
From Laveno, the cable car takes tourists to Sasso del Ferro, from where you can see the Alps beautifully. On the southern slopes of the mountain rises Santuario di Santa Caterina del Sasso (you can see them only from the lake). At the beginning of the twelfth century, a rich usurer, Alberto Besozzi, sailed on the lake, but his boat sank. He prayed fervently for salvation to St.. Catherine of Alexandria and was thrown ashore by the water without damage to his health. From then on, he gave up usury and will live! as a hermit in a cave on a mountainside. When his prayers saved the inhabitants from the plague, they built a church here, which has become a well-known pilgrimage destination. The fame of this place increased especially after the miraculous event, when a large boulder fell on the church, pierced the roof and instead of crushing the priest celebrating mass, hooked just above the altar. The boulder finally fell in 1910 Year, and the church was closed for fear of stone avalanches.
Further south lies a large village, ANGERA, which has a small, quiet beach and stately, hovering over the area, TWELFTH-century castle, Rocca (IV-X 9.30-12.00 and 14.00-17.00). Inside there are frescoes praising the excellence of the Visconti family , which depict battle scenes painted on the occasion of taking the castle from the Torriani family. Then the Visconti did not know yet, that only 100 years later, they, in turn, will lose the castle to the powerful and pious Borromeo family., from which the Milanese saint came, Charles Borromeo.
Lago d’0Rta
Residents of the area call Lago d'Orta "Cinderella"”, which perfectly characterizes the peaceful beauty of this small lake with navy blue waters and an interesting island. The tourism industry around Orta San Giulio is rather underdeveloped: in the season, the calm of the storm sometimes passing motorboat, but this does not compare with the popularity and noisiness of larger lakes.
Orta San Giulio and surrounding hills
The main town on the lake, quiet and traffic-free ORTA SAN GIULIO, is located on the slope of a wooded hill. Heading from the coastal square upwards, you pass the rows of houses painted in pastel colors, cafes with tables on the streets and the façade of Palazzo Commune decorated with faded frescoes. Above the city is the Sacro Monte, 21 pretentious, although consecrated saints. To Francis, Renaissance chapels. They contain scenes made without a sense of taste from the life of the saint, which are depicted by figures from painted terracotta against the background of kitschy frescoes.
The APT office in Orta is located on the Palazzo del Commune, located slightly higher than the Palazzo del Commune, Piazza Motta. Finding accommodation in high season can be a problem, because there are only a few hotels in the town. The cheapest of them is Amici Miei, Via Olino 4 (* 0322/90444) with double rooms for 35 OOOL, and Antico Agnello (near Piazza Motta; •90259), which has double rooms without bathroom for 29 700L (only in high season).
Easier to stay at the campsite, and there are three in the area: Orta (*0322/90267), Cusio (near the railway station; *0322/90290) and Miami (*0322/90197). Finding a cheap restaurant can be difficult (especially in low season): the best is the Pizzeria Elesir Amaro on Via Giacomo Giovanetti.
You can also stay in the villages located above the town. IN ARMENO, at the foot of Monte Mottarone, there are three locandes: Madonna di Luciago (•0322/900192), Mottarone (*0322/900195) and Tre Montagnette (*0322/900197). Next you can walk along the picturesque road to GIGNESE, where out of nowhere you will come across a museum of the history of umbrellas (only in summer). From here there are buses to Stresa nad Lago Maggiore, you can also go to Monte Mottarone and take the cable car to Maggiore.
Isola San Giulio
Point, which attracts the attention of tourists coming to Orta, is Isola San Giulio, a tiny village on the island, in which the white austere seminary building and the tower of the twelfth-century basilica stand out (ships depart from Orta San Giulio every half hour. 9.00-16.30). San Giulio, whose name the city and the island are named after, was a priest, which in 390 of the year decided to establish a sanctuary on the island. Because the locals did not want to transport him to the island, which was to be teeming with monsters and snakes, the saint was to cross the water on foot, using your cane as a rudder, and the coat as a sail. Getting there, he dealt with snakes, founded a temple and deserved holiness. Basilica (Tue-Sun. 9.30-12.30 and 14.30-19.00, Pn. 14.30-19.00) Has, carved into menacing-looking griffins and snakes, black marble pulpit, which is to remind the legend of the saint. Powerful bone vertebrae, which are located in the sacristy, are supposedly part of the body of one of the dragons that once lived here, but according to scientists, it's just whale bones.