Secret Cannobio
A special day in Cannobio
Perhaps the most beautiful town on the lake, unspoilt Cannobio has it all: a stunningly well preserved lakeside promenade lined by elegant pastel-coloured buildings, plenty of excellent restaurants, a vast lido beach area offering the best wind conditions for sailing, kite- surfing and windsurfing in the entire lake, a magnificent old port, glorious hiking in mountains blessed with an abundance of tiny villages where the women still wear traditional costume, a dramatic river gorge and a riverside cycle track.
Cannobio has managed, better than anywhere on Lago Maggiore, to keep modern development well away from the old town; in fact the contrast with Swiss towns and villages, with their ranks of austere concrete houses, just a few kilometres away over the border, is striking. with its photogenic ensemble of sun-dappled pastel coloured buildings arising from the waterfront as you approach, as always, the best way to arrive is by boat (April to October only). Cannobio is a wonder of scenic perfection offering the full-on, time warped, Italian experience. And scarcely a car in sight on the waterfront. Climb up the steps to the older part of the town, a maze of quaint pedestrian cobbled streets and alleyways.
This is where you’ll stumble on some of the most picturesque, endearingly timeless buildings with a wonderfully idiosyncratic collection of shops, several stocking items which have long since disappeared elsewhere.
Once you reach Via Giovanola, you’re in the area that used to be the town’s beating heart. Next to one of the five churches, you’ll notice the massive stone campanile, the town’s tallest building. In one of the side streets branching off Via Giovanola, look out for the church dedicated to Santa Maria, a jewel of a building. Head back towards the lake along Via Giovanola, crossing back over the main road again. At the end of Via Umberto I you’ll come to one of Cannobio’s oldest buildings, Casa Pironi, now a top-notch hotel. It sits like the prow of a beached boat, separating two alleyways leading down to the lake. Next to it is a beautiful old fountain bearing the head of a lion, the symbol of Cannobio.
The lakeside promenade is divided into two sections, bisected by the famous SS Pieta church built by Carlo Borromeo; to the south a line of porticoed buildings housing elegant cafes and restaurants and to the north what used to be fishermen’s houses. Market day, Sundays, sees an influx of visitors, many arriving by boat from Switzerland, so parking can be a problem. The market is held along the waterfront and needless to say, provides an extremely pictures que spectacle.
Cannobio beach
Notwithstanding its countless other assets, Cannobio’s real business is its beach, arguably the best, often also the busiest, on Lago Maggiore. With a constant breeze blowing throughout the day, it’s a sailor’s delight.
Throughout the summer season, a sailing school does a roaring trade in windsurfing and kite-surfing lessons. A cycle track starts at the Lido and runs alongside the river Cannobino.
With a population of over 5,000, Cannobio is a fully functioning town 5 kilometres from the Swiss border, offering a wide range of amenities and appealing particularly to German and Swiss visitors, given its location.
The last town in Italy, it is of course most vibrant in summer but not completely moribund in winter due to the fact that a sizeable proportion of its population resides in the town al year round, working in Switzerland and commuting to Locarno or Ascona every day. As it has these two strings to its bow (tourism and cross-border employment), unlike many other areas of Italy, Cannobio has been unscathed by the economic crisis besetting Italy and exudes prosperity.
• By car, 50 min. from Stresa
• can be combined with Cannero Riviera village
• Lunch at a local Restaurant at cost price (high standards)
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