Cannobio - Lake Maggiore & Lake Orta Travel Guide

The Roman "Canobinum" now has 5,200 inhabitants and was already a prosperous town in the Middle Ages, thanks above all to trade.



The historic core around the early Gothic town hall from the end of the 13th century, with the fine Romanesque tower of the parish church of San Vittore beside it, shows this clearly.




Narrow lanes, steps and arcades lead down to the lower town on the lakeshore.

As the through road runs somewhat above the town, which is built on the alluvial fan of the Cannobino, the long, broad lakeside promenade with its 16th- and 17th-century patrician houses and its numerous restaurants and cafés beneath the arcades of the row of buildings is a very inviting place for visitors.

The set-back line of buildings along the long promenade is closed off by the massive pilgrimage church of Mercy (Santa Pietà), a Renaissance building from the 16th/17th century with a Baroque interior.

The goal of pilgrims is a late Gothic Pietà said to have shed blood and tears in 1522.

Above it hangs the church's art-historical treasure, the large painting "The Road to Calvary" by Gaudenzio Ferrari.

Ferrari (c. 1475-1546) is regarded as one of the most gifted artists of his time. His strength lies in detail (the folds of drapery, effects of light) and in the strong colours he used. The Roman soldiers in the picture look like Landsknechte who might just have arrived from Germany. That is not unusual: German Landsknechte had conquered and sacked Rome only a few years earlier, and in the same period Swiss mercenaries forced Ticino under the rule of the Swiss Confederation.

Unfortunately the painting hangs in rather dim light and cannot be viewed from close up.

Close to the Swiss border, Cannobio marks the transition from the more southern-feeling places such as Ghiffa to the more central-European-looking places on the Swiss part of Lake Maggiore, such as Ascona and Locarno.

The character of the old trading town comes alive anew every Sunday, when the lakeside promenade turns into a large market where you can buy just about anything: fruit and vegetables, cold meats and cheese, but also leather and household goods, toys and clothing.

Every Thursday morning there is also a small food market, frequented mainly by Italians. Here you will find fruit, vegetables, cheese, cold meats and also roast chicken to take away.

In the Verbania region, in the Cadarese district of 28866 Premia (VB), at 800 m above sea level, there is a newly built, attractive thermal spa. Premia lies in the Valle Antigorio, about 20 minutes by car from Domodossola. The spa is closed on Mondays; further information can be found on the website (Italian only).

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Picture book "Val Grande – Wege in die Einsamkeit" (German only)