Rough Guides - The Rough Guide to Italian Lakes (Travel Guide eBook)

Introduction to The Italian Lakes

The Italian Lakes are a little slice of paradise. Generations of travellers from the north, descending wearily from the chilly Alpine passes, have come into this Mediterranean vision of figs and palms, bougainvillea and lemon blossom, and been lost for words. Elegant ribbons of blue water stretch out ahead, folded into the sun-baked foothills; after the rigours of the high Alps, the abundance of fine food and wine must have been a revelation. Warming, awe-inspiring and graced with natural beauty, the lakes are still a place to draw breath and wonder.

These days, of course, mass tourism has found the lakes, and the shoreside roads that link every town can be as packed as the ferries that chug to and fro. But the chief reason to visit the area its spectacular landscapes remains compelling, and there are plenty of ways to avoid the crowds.

The lakes deep, slender fjords gouged by glaciers are sublime. All are oriented northsouth, ringed by characterful old villages often wedged onto narrow beaches between rugged cliffs and the water. And those classic lakes images of flower-bedecked balconies, Baroque gardens and splendid waterside villas can be found here in abundance.

Dotted around and between the lakes are some of Italys finest art cities. Milan is pre-eminent, while Verona, Bergamo, Mantua and others display in their architecture as well as their art a civilized, urban vision that stands in marked contrast to the wild, largely rural character of the lakeside hinterlands. Italy only became a unified state in 1861 and, as a result, people often feel more loyalty to their home town than to the nation as a whole a feeling manifest in the multitude of cuisines, dialects and outlooks that span the region.

The lakes in Latin

On maps and in tourist brochures, youll notice that the lakes are often referred to by their old Latin names . These titles which are also much used by writers and poets evoke a sense of pride in local culture and history, forming a linguistic link between the present and the distant past. For this reason, politicians also love them: when the Province of Novara was reorganized in the 1990s, the new province that resulted, covering territory around lakes Maggiore and Orta, was named Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, deliberately playing on the Latin appellations.

For all practical purposes, though, these names are a curiosity: they are rarely used without their modern equivalents and never on road signs.

Lake Orta Cusio

Lake Maggiore Verbano

Lake Como Lario

Lake Iseo Sebino

Lake Garda Benaco

Where to go

Stylish, sophisticated Milan needs little introduction the undisputed capital of the north, and richest city of Italys richest region, Lombardy. Lombardy often seems to have more in common with its northern European neighbours than with the rest of Italy. As a border region, Lombardy has always been vulnerable to invasion, just as it has always profited by being a commercial crossroads. Emperors from Charlemagne to Napoleon came to Lombardy to be crowned king and big business continues to take Lombardys capital more seriously than Rome. Milans pilgrimage status is fourfold. Art pay homage to Leonardo da Vincis iconic Last Supper . Architecture explore and be awed by the spectacular Duomo inside and out. Music sample captivating opera at the world-famous La Scala . Shopping this is one of the worlds fashion capitals. The opulent Certosa di Pavia monastery, set amid the rice fields south of Milan, stands as a monument to the citys Renaissance rulers.

The lakes are ranged in formation north of Milan, interleaved between the Prealpine foothills. The westernmost is Lake Orta , a pretty little wedge of blue water that holds one of the loveliest of all the regions medieval villages, Orta San Giulio . The longest of the lakes Lake Maggiore lies draped between high ridges of green mountainside. The resorts of Stresa