Stroll away from stresses in Stresa

The Borromean Islands of Lake Maggiore bewitch with their baroque delights and botanical wonders. From the lakeside Italian town of Stresa, ferries and private yachts zip out to the three main islands — Isola Bella, Isola Madre, Isola dei Pescatori.

Ordinarily, I would be on one of those boats. But two things hold me back. One is the fact that, a few months previously, I was on another lush and magical Maggiore island — Isole di Brissago on the Swiss side of the lake — and the second reason is that it’s now high summer and I fear those little Borromean Islands are going to be jam-packed with tourists.

So I decide to give them a miss and instead take a wander along Stresa’s lovely lakeside promenade before getting lost — and enjoying food and drink — in its photogenic old town.

Being in Italy is something of a bonus as I’m actually on a Best Of Switzerland coach tour with Globus.

As well as taking in the majesty of that landlocked alpine nation over the course of a week and a bit, we’re dipping in and out of a few of its neighbouring countries.

Yesterday, we had paused for a photo stop by Lake Como — another Italian jewel — on our way to Lugano, a Swiss city by the lake of the same name (another that’s shared between the two countries).

Now, having returned to Italy, we have the best part of four hours here in a town that nestles at an altitude of 200m but has the air of an elegant seaside town.

Many of my fellow travellers have joined the optional paid-for excursion to Isola Bella’s ornate palace and terraced gardens.

As they sail out into Lake Maggiore, I’m a little envious but at peace with my decision as I mosey along Stresa’s delightfully manicured promenade. It’s edged by tidy lawns, flowerbeds and sculptures, alongside grand lake-facing properties.

Some were built as private residences, notably Villa Ducale, which was constructed in 1771 for Giacomo Filippo Bolongaro, a Stresa businessman who had made his fortune in tobacco.

The building is now occupied by the Rosmini Museum, which honours Antonio Rosmini, a revered priest and philosopher who lived here from 1850 to 1855. Stresa had, by this time, evolved from a fishing village to an appealing resort for wealthy Europeans.

A key opening in the second half of the 20th century was the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromees, which still grabs the attention with its palatial art nouveau exterior.

I’m told that American guests are especially keen to follow in the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway, who stayed here to convalesce after being wounded by a mortar shell in World War I.

He mentioned the hotel in his book A Farewell To Arms. Room 105, where he stayed, is now the Hemingway Suite, affording dreamy views over the island-speckled lake and its alpine backdrop.

It’s easy to see why film directors are drawn to Stresa and it has been a location for a number of Italian movies. Behind the cinematic beauty, however, there have been tragic episodes.

In 1943 Stresa was among the sites of the “Lake Maggiore massacres”, which saw nazi SS troops execute Jews in this and other local towns and villages.

More recently, in 2021, 14 people died when a cable car snapped and plummeted as it rose from Stresa towards Mottarone, a 1491m summit above the town.

Gazing up at the wooded peaks with my back to the promenade, I take one of the car-free alleys cutting through Stresa’s compact central core. As well as apartments housing some of the town’s 5000 residents, there’s an abundance of bars, bakeries, cafes, restaurants and souvenir stores here flaunting the wares and produce of Piedmont, the Italian region of which Stresa is part.

Down one quiet lane, I break for a cappuccino at Torrefazione e Bar Moka Stresa, an intimate neighbourhood joint where I seem to be the only non-Italian speaker (the staff are friendly and can speak English).

It’s 11am. On the table next to me, a group of men in their 60s or 70s are clinking glasses of sparkling wine.

On another table, a group of women of similar age are enjoying cigarettes and espressos.

I walk a little more, my nose struck by the scents of lime, lavender, leather and camellia drifting from the open doorways of gift stores that sell everything from soaps and lotions to bags and jackets.

I see alfresco eateries with lake fish like perch and trout on their menus. I’m tempted, but I’ve enjoyed several large meals on this trip thus far, so I opt for a lighter lunch.

I take a seat on the covered terrace at Al Buscion, a family-run wine bar and bistro that has been here for 20 years, in the shadow of the sturdy Church of Saints Ambrogio and Theodulo.

I order a porcelloso panino, which arrives at my table deconstructed. The plate has a generous selection of porchetta, chutneys and chunks of warm bread coated with melted fontina, a cow’s milk cheese from Orta, a town by a lake of the same name about 10km west of here.

I pair it with a glass of bonarda, a boldish red wine from Lombardy, the Italian region neighbouring Piedmont.

It’s a simple but highly satisfying lunch.

And though I’ve had a rather enjoyable and relaxing morning, I wouldn’t mind a nap now. As luck would have it, it’s time to reunite with my group on the Globus tour coach ahead of our afternoon’s journey back into Switzerland.

Steve McKenna was a guest of Globus. They have not influenced this story or read it before publication.

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+ For more information on visiting Stresa and Italy, see visitpiemonte.com and italia.it

+ Running between May and October, Globus’ nine-day Best Of Switzerland tour begins and ends in Zurich and also visits the likes of St Moritz, Zermatt, Lucerne and Bern. It costs from $6740 a person (based on double occupancy). See globus.com.au