Pallanza, Verbania - Lake Maggiore & Lake Orta Travel Guide

With its position on the south-western shore of the Castagnola peninsula jutting out into the lake, its many villas and a lakeside promenade lined with cafés and restaurants, Pallanza has retained the character of a quiet, self-contained resort.

The climate in Pallanza is particularly mild and pleasant. Thanks to its position on the Borromean Gulf, facing south and south-west, the sun is still shining here when it is already cool and shady in Stresa and along much of the west shore.

In Pallanza you should visit the church of Madonna di Campagna, which, although not in the fields as its name suggests, lies somewhat outside the centre.

The originally large Romanesque building was remodelled in the Renaissance style in the 16th century. The architects Giovanni and Pietro Baretta placed a huge octagon, lightened with columns, on the crossing and kept the Romanesque campanile. Inside, the choir stalls and the Renaissance frescoes have also been preserved.

The Museo del Paesaggio is housed in the interesting Palazzo Dugnani from the end of the 17th century. Here you will find, among other things, a rich collection of sculptures and plaster models by the sculptor Paolo Troubetzkoy (1866-1938), son of a Russian prince and an American dancer, who lived and worked mainly on Lake Maggiore and in Milan. The works exhibited here clearly show that, alongside his pleasing art, this popular society sculptor also pursued a style strongly influenced by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), which was less accepted in his day.


On the lakeside promenade of Pallanza stands the mausoleum built for Luigi Cadorna during the Fascist years.

The defensive line with which Italy intended to resist a feared invasion by Austro-German troops across the Swiss Alps goes back to Cadorna, the Chief of the General Staff in the First World War. Remains of these defences, which were never actually used, can still be found today around Premeno towards Trarego and also in the Valcuvia.

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