Maccagno - Lake Maggiore & Lake Orta Travel Guide

The town, with about 2,400 inhabitants, is divided into an upper district, Maccagno superiore, and, separated from it by the River Giona, the district right on the lake, Maccagno inferiore.


In Maccagno superiore the Baroque church of S. Materno has a pretty façade, and not far away, above the doorway of a house, is a fine sculpture of two women by a local master.

In Maccagno inferiore the harbour with its old mole is overlooked by the Torre Imperiale. After Emperor Otto I was welcomed in Maccagno in 962, on his second Italian campaign, by the local feudal lords, the Counts Mandelli, he granted the town the right to mint coins and independent jurisdiction.

To this day the district by the harbour is called "La Zecca", "The Mint".

From Maccagno a detour into the Valle Veddasca is recommended. On the sunny northern side, within the belt of chestnut woods, the valley of the Torrente Giona has several old villages: Campagnano (612 m), Garabiolo (566 m), Càdero (596 m), Graglio (895 m), Armio (896 m), Lozzo (880 m) and Biegno (892 m). There are two ways to continue:

... across the Swiss border to Indemini and on over the Alpe di Neggia (1,395 m), with routes up to Monte Gambarogne, which has a lovely view over the northern part of Lake Maggiore (1,730 m; 1.5 hours), or to Monte Tamaro (1,961 m; 2.5 hours), and down to the lakeshore at Vira, already close to where the Ticino flows in,

or

... over the Passo La Forcora (1,179 m), with its winter sports facilities, to Lago d'Elio (930 m; inn). From there an unpaved road leads to Bassano (528 m; cemetery church with a Romanesque campanile) and back down to the lake at Pino, close to the Italian-Swiss border on the Italian side.

The south-eastern part of the Valle Veddasca is only partly served by roads, but it has the Via Verde Varesina hiking trail, with many old houses slowly falling into ruin, built in the traditional stone-slab style.

The same goes for the little village of Piero, from where a long flight of steps leads to the now abandoned Monteviasco (924 m), an old farming and smugglers' hamlet.

Confident drivers will enjoy a trip to Lago d'Elio (930 m), a reservoir high above Lake Maggiore. The route climbs via Musignano along a narrow, winding road with unforgettable views of the lake. Especially at weekends, many visitors come to Lago d'Elio for a picnic or to visit the restaurant or the caseificio (cheese dairy).

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