Baveno | Shining Gem of Lake Maggiore

Baveno is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated beauties of Lake Maggiore in the province of Verbania – Cusio – Ossola located on the western shore of one of the most charming lakes in the world situated in Piedmont territory.

This centre is a place with a remarkable historical and artistic heritage, ancient Roman settlement at the time of Emperor Claudius which stands next to the wonderful Stresa on the slopes of the Mottarone and Camoscio mountains on the delta of the Selvaspessa stream, overlooking a beautiful gulf in front of the extraordinary Borromeo Archipelago.?

This shining gem of the Verbano area has not left untouched numerous historical figures who succumbed to its bewitching charm, namely Dumas, Schubert, Napoleon Bonaporte, the Monarchs of the House of Savoy, Great Britain, Montenegro, Ernest Hemingway and Winston Churchill among others.

You can start the visit from the fascinating lakefront with its 1400.0 meters of promenade enlivened by flowerbeds always in bloom and lush vegetation where you will notice the presence of some sculptures made with the famous pink marble of Baveno.

One of these is the notorious Stonemason, also called in local dialect "Picasass" , which means to beat a stone, represented by a man depicted while he is working with his chisel, a work carried out in1990 by a local artist called Raffaele Polli with the intention of honoring that prestigious, local job.

The sculptor created another work you will see not far from the previous, a Granite Lion with a leaf representing that animal considered the king of the forest, a symbol of power and strength next to a leaf that is the beginning of life in a plant or tree that will produce future fruits or flowers.

Walking you will meet another work called Maggi, a cute dragon-snake developed with tnhe local stone. You will note that the head emerging from the ground at one point,while its long tail appears in another place, following a line corresponding to the body that appears from an underground section, to the delight of every child.

Since the sixteenth century, Baveno has been exporting its granite to Italy and abroad. Some prestigeous buildings erected with this material are the Mole Antonelliana in Turin, the Arch of Peace and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan, Sankt Karl Kirche in Vienna, the Paris Opera and the Statue of Christopher Columbus erected in New York.

Crossing Corso Sempione next to the jarbour you will find the Palazzo Municipale, a building with a beautiful portico formed by granite columns and through a staircase you will reach in a few minutes Domo district.

This area represents the historic core of Baveno where the medieval monuments of the municipality stand on a magnificent square highlighted by an attractive cobblestone floor.

You can start an artistic jouney from the Baptistery which, despite its Renaissance profile, was erected in the fifth century on an octagonal plan with a portico supported by four granite columns, boasting splendid semicircular and rectangular niches, fine pilasters, elegant renaissance bands and a large dome.

Inside you can admire a magnificent romanesque vault highlighted by biblical scenes and the Eternal in the center while the walls were frescoed in the seventeenth century.

The adjacent Church of Saints Gervaso and Protaso was built between the tenth and eleventh centuries, consecrated by Bishop Amidano on July 25, 1345, although extensively restored during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it still shows wonderful Romanesque details.

The beautiful gabled fa?ade developed with squared stones, walled mullioned windows, flying buttresses and hanging arches faithfully encloses in its layout all the faithful architectural canons of the time masterfully executed.

The large archivolt portal decorated with capitals with designs inspired by nature is absolutely stunning. Originally the church had a single nave but new structural changes made changed the profile with side buttresses of the chapels and the vaulted roof of the sacristy and the apse.

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?You will have the chance to admire inside a beautiful fresco depicting St. Christopher, a splendid altarpiece, two panels attributed to the illustrious painters Camillo Procaccini and Defendente Ferrari next to and a wooden crucifix of the sixteenth century.

?Behind the central body stands an imposing quadrangular bell tower erected between 1050 and 1075 with mullion, cobblestone wall sections, small loopholes, a circular clock and a polygonal spire with a metal cross as its top.

?Next to this religious temple you can see a Roman tombstone linked to the Emperor Claudius Tiberius Caesar Augustus.

On the left side, next to this magnificent medieval complex was developed a Via Crucis built in 1839 under a long portico with a granite colonnade which despite dating back to the 19th century is in perfect harmony with the Middle ages environment.

?In a pleasant walk you can see all stages of Calvary frescoed ending in the last station with the tomb and a wooden statue of Christ.

From Via Domo you will reach in just some minutes a picturesque square where lies a votive chapel with a fresco depicting the Virgin Mary, a work dating back the 17thcentury honoring the liberation of the Plague of 1630 and ?where you can also admire Casa Morandi, a beautiful building dated 18th century highlighted by a balcony and stairs with wrought iron lines.

?Coming back to Corso Sempione you will be delighted by the presence of some of the noble villas of Baveno, starting from Villa Fedora, which now houses the Verbania Chamber of Commerce.

It is a fine example of an elegant residence erected in 1857 by an aristocrat from Turin called Giacinto Mannati, characterized by a long colonnade, a beautiful English park containing various species of plants that takes its name from a work by Umberto Giordano who lived in this residence from 1904 to 1924.

The villa was also owned by the businessman Giuseppe Spatz and it also became the headquarter of the London Polytechnic Institute while in 1943 it was inhabited by a Jewish businessman named Emil Serman.

Villa Della Casa is absolutely a further highlight, a superb work by the Swiss architect Augusto Guidini. It was erected in the nineteenth century for the Italian-Swiss entrepreneur Nicola Della Casa, a notorious local figure linked to the pink granite trade.

Surrounded by a beautiful garden, it boasts a refined fa?ade with flowered balconies and terracotta medallions depicting famous historical figures.

You can continue with the stylish Villa Galtrucco just outside the historic center, a beautiful prototype of a noble nineteenth-century residence and in succession Villa Patrizia and Villa Beatrice, both of the twentieth century.

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You can conclude with Villa Branca dating back to the nineteenth century also known as Villa Clara built by the English architect Charles Helfrey between 1870 and 1872 and which had as guests Queen Victoria and Princess Beatrix, a superlative building in British neo-Gothic style with the use of red bricks boasting marble terraces, turrets, spires and a wonderful English garden.

Baveno for its stylish charm will be something to remember for ever, this enchanting gem of Lake Maggiore immediately captivate eveyone remaining in the pleasant memory of a multitude of visitors.

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Links : https://www.comune.baveno.vb.it/

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