This boat itinerary is the continuation of the itinerary Stresa-Cannobio, it covers the Northern part of Lake Maggiore,
and ends in Locarno, Canton Ticino Switzerland, so, bring your passport with
you, as you will need it to cross the border between Italy and Switzerland in
Brissago.
Cannobio
With departure from Intra, the boats connect various towns
mentioned above: Ghiffa, Oggebbio and Cannero on the Piedmont shore and effect
numerous daily runs between Cannero, Luino, Maccagno and Cannobio.
Precisely at Cannobio, last Commune in Italian territory, the boat departed from Luino docks
after crossing the basin once again.
This tourist spot presents interesting medieval testimonies,
among which the Palazzo della Ragione (House of Reason) called "Parrasio",
ordered to be built at the end of the 3rd cent. by the chief magistrate Ugolino
Mandello and modified in 17th cent. ground-level portico, at its right is the
Torre del Comune (Tower of the Commune), in Romanesque style (13th cent.), that
in reality is the ancient belfry of the nearby Collegiata di San Vittore,
demolished and rebuilt in the 18th cent.
Of the end of the 16th cent. and due to Carlo Borromeo is the
Sanctuary della Pietˆ. Not far from Cannobio you find the Orrido di Sant'Anna
(Ravine of Saint Anna), a rocky gorge hollowed out by the Cannobino stream. Old
testimony of an illustrious historical past (in the 17th cent. it even had at
its disposal a Mint where it made money) it is the so-called Torre Imperiale,
fronting the lake and dating back to the 13th - 14th cent.
Going up from Maccagno towards the Valveddasca, at some
kilometers is the Lake Delio, at 930 meters of altitude, of glacial origin. Its
waters feed the imposing hydroelectric power plant of Ronco Valgrande (the
turbines are positioned in the enormous caverns), with an output of close to a
billion KWh a year.
The boat, departed from Canobbio, courses along the western
shore doubling round Piaggio Valmara, seat of the Dogana Italiana (Italian
Customs) and Madonna del Ponte, seat of of the Swiss one, in order to dock after
twenty minutes at the first port called in Helvetian territory: Brissago, where
the operations of the Swiss frontier are carried out. Popular weather station situated at the feet of the Limidario
Mt., the little city is seat of a large tobacco manufacturer dating back to the
mid-19th cent., and, in panoramic position, rises the Parrocchiale of the '500s.
A little more than a kilometer from the shore you come upon
the archipelago of the Islands of Brissago (reachable either from here as from
Porto Ronco, further north), made up the little island of Sant'Apollinaire, of
lush vegetation, where are preserved the remains of the tiny Romanesque church
that gave it its name, and from the Island of san Pancrazio, home of a
monastery, as far back as the '500s, where you have the botanical garden and a
villa of the 1927 with the Museo Etnografico Africano (African Etnographic
Museum).
The archipelago, transformed into a place of residence and
convention of artists by the Baroness Antonietta Saint Leger in 1895, is from
the 1950s Botanical Park of the Canton Ticino and its lush vegetation, thanks to
the unique climatic conditions, it is subdivided in zones representing flora of
all over world.
On the left of Brissago, set down in the inlet in line with
the delta of Maggia River and at the feet of wooded hills, you find the
picturesque Borgo of Ascona, famous tourist locality with a beautiful lake-front
of plant trees flanked by hotels, characteristic houses and, on the adjacent
little piazza, the Parrocchiale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo. Among the many
cultural and folkloristic displays, the "Musical Weeks", held in the autumn, are
noteworthy.
Locarno
After 40 minutes of navigation from Brissago (or 20 from
Ascona) the boat reaches the celebrated city of Locarno, positioned at the
northern tip of Verbano and accommodated in a beautiful inlet at the slopes of
the Mt. Poncione di Trosa.
Interesting and characteristic the historical center with
buildings and structures of the '600s, and part of the 14th cent. Viscount
Castle rebuilt in the 16th cent. but destroyed by the Swiss in 1513, currently
site of the Museum of Modern Art and the Archeological Collection.
Of the 16thy cent. period are instead the buildings and
portico houses gathered around piazza Grande, where silhouetted against the sky
is the 14th cent.
Torre del Comune, connected to the gardens with the Kursaal-Casino
of the early '900s. Two important artistic reminders are the 15th cent. frescoes
of Santa Maria in Selva (presently the Chapel of the Cemetery), and the
Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sasso, in a panoramic location on the slopes of
Poncione.
Founded in 1450, following the apparition of the Virgin,
rebuilt in the 17th cent. and again rearranged in the early years of this
century, it preserves some interesting works.
Lastly it must be remembered that at Locarno annually there is
the Cinematography Festival, fourth in importance after Cannes, Venezia and
Berlin.
From Locarno the boat leaves following the course already
executed, and facing on the so-called eastern shore of the Gambarogno, a series
of localities reached by local boat services: Magadino, at the mouth of the vast
plane where the Ticino river outfalls; the picturesque fishermen's village of
Vira-Gambarogno, San Nazzaro, then Gerra-Gambarogno and Ranzo, ultimate landing
place in the Swiss waters.
Beyond the Italian border the townships of Pino Lake Maggiore
rise, with its 16th cent. tower present seat of the Municipal, and of Tronzano,
at the slopes of the Mt. Borgna (1158), with the Church of Immaculate
reconstructed in the '500s, on the ruins of a Romanesque building, of which the
belfry remained; finally Maccagnano the locality we discussed earlier.
Going back to Milan
Fron Locarno you can take a boat back to Stresa, or you can
get the Tilo train to Bellinzona, Chiasso and
then to Milan.
Coming from the North
From Bellinzona, on the Gottard line you can get the Tilo train to Locarno.
This same boat itinerary can be done backwards, starting from
Locarno and ending in Stresa.
This portion of boat trip takes about one hour forty five
minutes with the hydrofoil, and about three hours with the normal boat. With the low season
there are fewer boat runs than in the summer, the service is suspended during
some months, and certain stops are skipped
altogether, so check here the most recent schedule before going.
