Lake Maggiore, repository of the wealth and cultural patrimony
left by the Borromeo family, is still testimony to their prestige
and refinement which can be seen in their magnificent island
palazzi with their impressive Italian gardensIsola Bella - Lago
Maggiore, and the imposing Fortress of Angera.
The lake should be seen from the lake, and from the lake time
seems to have stood still. The Monastery of Santa Caterina clinging
to the rocky cliff; Stresa and the Borromeo Islands, small in
size but rich in history, and the Castles of Cannero, island
outpost of the Mazzarditi Brothers, infamous pirates of the
Verbano, are just a few of the timeless examples awaiting the
visitor.
To the tourist, who for the first time arrives in Stresa, is
offered a breathless sight. At the beginning a superb window
of the lake front, delineated with lines of palm trees, with
flourishing gardens and facades of majestic hotels. Then, turning
to look at the lake, enchanted, as if emerged from the same
waters the spectacular Borromean Islands (Isola Bella, Isola
Madre and Isola dei Pescatori). It is enough the splendour of
these visions to make one understand how Stresa has been able
to become one of the maximum meetings of international tourism.
The town, already at the middle half of Lungolago di Stresa
the 19th century was the most elegant place to stay, the most
visited by the international upper middle class. Others again
are the reasons of so much fame and prestige. Here art and nature
are mixed together in a way that one respects the other, here
the hospitality is to boast to generation and the cultural initiative,
that happens in the course of the year, they are the necessary
corollary of it.
The park of this 5 five star hotel in Lake Maggiore was established
at the same time as the Grand Hotel, in 1863. From contemporary
illustrations and lithographs, one immediately realizes what
the clients (the Omarini brothers) and the designer (the architect
Antonio Polli) had in mind: in front of the incomparable sight
of the Borromean islands, they wanted to create a parterre of
flowerbeds set in the Italian style. These flowerbeds had to
be laid out beyond the street of Sempione as well, in the garden
of the landing stage constructed on an embankment by the lake.
The Grand Hotel is constantly being renewed. It has repeatedly
been enlarged and since the early 20th century has its present
appearance. At the same time the park has adapted to frequent
adjustments, although certain peculiarities remain. Among those
worth mentioning are the fashionable quarters to the east, the
greenhouses and storage rooms to the west (an area currently
used as the Residenza del Parco and Sporting), an area to the
south set in the English manner with small detached houses and
outbuildings and, as a poster of the time read, “a huge park
and garden with tennis and croquet courts”.
