Bellevue

Home description

Apartment place on the first floor of a two-storey house situated on the shore of Lake Maggiore Piedmont. It has furnished large garden from which you can see the lake in all its beauty and picturesque Castle on the Rock of Angera. The beach below offers the opportunity to dock the boat. Behind accommodation is the Rock of Arona, immersed in nature where you can do walking and relaxing picnic. The exit of the house gives on lakeside few metres and you can reach shops, services and the town centre. Moving few kilometres later you can reach the Ticino river with all its natural beauty and the Natural Park of Lagoni, where in summer you can enjoy a sweet freshness. Going to the hill is the St. Carlone, a statue of Saint Charles Borromeo, giant copper inside and visited famous throughout the world.

Location

Arona, Italy is a town of about 14,500 inhabitants on Lake Maggiore, in the province of Novara (northern Italy). Its main economic activity is tourism, especially from Milan, France and Germany.

Archaeological findings have shown that the area of what today is Arona was settled from the 18th-13th centuries BC. Later it was a possession of the Celts, the Romans and the Lombards.

In the 11th century the Benedictine abbey of Saints Gratianus and Felinus, Martyrs, was founded.

After the destruction of Milan in 1162 by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, many of the exiled took refuge in Arona.

Later the city was a possession of the Torriani and (from 1277) of the Visconti families. In the early 14th century the city became a free commune under the suzerainty of the abbey. In 1439 it was acquired by the Borromeo family.

Main sights

Arona's main attractions include:

Sancarlone.This giant statue of Saint Charles Borromeo was commissioned by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, and construction began in 1614, completed in 1698. At 35.10 m it was the largest bronze standing statue in the world, second only to the Statue of Liberty. It is said that the architects behind the Statue of Liberty consulted the blueprints of the Sancarlone when laying out their own.

It was intended as part of a complex of buildings and chapels celebrating the life of St. Charles, of which only three chapels were completed. Next to the statue are the 17th basilica and the former Archbishop's Palace. A smaller version of the statue, the Sancarlino, can be seen in Corso Cavour in the town.

La Rocca ("The Castle") is a park owned by the Borromeo family. The park used to contain the castle of Arona, destroyed by the Napoleonic armies, and was the birthplace of St. Charles Borromeo himself. The park is freely open to the public and is a favourite of many locals; many animals are kept in semi-captivity in various areas of the park.

The Lungolago ("Lakeside") offers a fine view of the castle of Angera and the Alps. Swimming in Lake Maggiore is now possible, after years of pollution. A beach has been refurbished by this group close to Piazza del Popolo in the town center, called Le rocchette ("The little rocks").

The church of the Collegiata della Nativitą di Maria Vergine (1482) has paintings of the life of San Carlo Borromeo by Cesare Nebbia.

The famous Sancarlone, a giant statue of St. Charles Borromeo.The 'frazione' of Mercurago is home to Lagoni Park, a protected area including a peat-bog, pastures dedicated to the breeding of thoroughbred horses and a woodland area. There are also some archeological findings from the Bronze Age, including ancient wheels.