Lesa, Piedmont

The Visconti Castle of Massino is a medieval castle located on the Vergante hills in the municipality of Massino Visconti, Province of Novara, Piedmont, northern Italy. Since the 12th century it has been a possession and one of the preferred residences of the Visconti of Milan. At that time it was frequented by the family ancestor of the lords and dukes of Milan. Afterwards its property was transferred to other collateral branches of the lineage, from the initial Visconti di Massino to the current Visconti di San Vito.The vast view that can be seen from the site of the castle, covering the Lake Maggiore and the territory beyond it, is supposed to be the motivation of the initial interest of the Visconti of Milan, leading them to the acquisition of the Massino court from the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1134.

Ranco is a comune (municipality) on the shore of Lago Maggiore in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest of Milan and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Varese. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,188 and an area of 6.3 square kilometres (2.4 sq mi).The village has a Guide Michelin acclaimed restaurant (Il sole di Ranco) and a Transport Museum. The municipality of Ranco contains the frazione (subdivision) Uponne. Ranco borders the following municipalities: Angera, Ispra, Lesa, Meina.

Massino Visconti (usually called simply Massino) is a municipality in the Province of Novara, in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about 110 kilometres (68 mi) northeast of Turin and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Novara. Massino Visconti is bordered by the municipalities of Armeno, Brovello-Carpugnino, Lesa and Nebbiuno. Massino got the suffix "Visconti" from the House of Visconti of Milan, an important noble family in medieval Italy, who were initially the lords of Massino.

Nebbiuno is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Turin and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Novara. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,709 and an area of 8.2 square kilometres (3.2 sq mi).Nebbiuno borders the following municipalities: Armeno, Lesa, Massino Visconti, Meina, and Pisano. Among the local churches are San Giorgio; Sant'Agata, Fosseno; San Leonardo, Tapigliano; Santi Nazaro e Celso, Corciago; and the Chiesetta della Madonna della Neve, Corciago.

Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso (Italian: Eremo di Santa Caterina del Sasso) is a Roman Catholic monastery located in the municipality of Leggiuno, in the Province of Varese and the region of Lombardy, Italy. It is perched on a rocky ridge on the eastern shore 16m above Lake Maggiore. The monastery can be reached on foot by descending down a long winding stairway or by taking an elevator or by a number of ferry services or boats that dock at the pier. The construction of the monastery dates from the 14th century, although the more recent frescos are from the 19th century. It consists of three buildings: the southern convent, the convent and the main church. In 1914 it was declared a national monument. You get the best view of Santa Caterina from the ferry boat on the Lago Maggiore, and the first thing you see is that the monastery consists of three chapels.

Stresa is a comune (municipality) of about 4,600 residents on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the Italian region of Piedmont. about 90 kilometres (56 mi) northwest of Milan. It is situated on road and rail routes to the Simplon Pass.

The Villa Farragiana a Meina is a 19th-century Neoclassical-style rural palace located on the shores of Lago Maggiore, between the towns of Meina and Arona in the Province of Novara, region of Piedmont, Italy. This villa differs from the Villa Faraggiana at Albissola Marina in the Province of Savona.

Sant'Agata is a Roman Catholic parish church in the frazione of Fosseno, in the town limits of Nebbiuno, province of Novara, Piedmont, Italy.

The Rocca Borromeo di Angera, or Rocca d'Angera, also called Borromeo Castle, is a rocca on a hilltop above the town of Angera in the Province of Varese on the southern shores of Lago Maggiore. It has medieval origins and initially belonged to the Milanese archbishop. It passed then to the Visconti of Milan and later to the Borromeos, who are still the owners.It is visible across the lake from Arona, where the remains of another castle with the same property history, the Rocca di Arona, stand. The fortress comprises four parts, built in different periods, that enclose an internal courtyard. On the northeastern side, a wall with corner turrets extends outside the building and bends towards the lake until the edge of the cliff enclosing a garden.

Gignese is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 110 kilometres (68 mi) northeast of Turin and about 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Verbania. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 913 and an area of 14.9 square kilometres (5.8 sq mi).The municipality of Gignese contains the frazioni (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Alpino Cignese, Nocco, and Vezzo. Gignese borders the following municipalities: Armeno, Brovello-Carpugnino, Omegna, Stresa.

Grand Hotel et des Iles Borromées is a historic luxury hotel located on the shores of Lake Maggiore in Italy.

Isolino Partegora (known locally as Isulin) is an islet situated at the centre of the gulf of Angera on Lago Maggiore, the only island on the lake to fall within the Italian region Lombardy. Most of the shoreline consists of marshy cane thickets, although there is a sandy beach at the southern edge of the island. The islet is about 96 by 36 m in size, with an area of roughly 3500 square metres. Sass margunin, or margunée, is a submerged erratic block lying some tens of metres to the west of the island. Near the shore facing the island is the Oasis of Bruschera natural park. The park occupies an area of approximately 400 hectares (990 acres) and is one of the last remaining flooded forests in Lombardy.It is said that the saints Giulio and Giuliano stopped on the island. Tradition also identifies Partegora as the location of the martyrdom of Arialdo Alciato, the Milanese deacon and Patarine reformist who was assassinated in 1076 at the prompting of his archbishop, Guido da Velate. In 1776 Alessandro Volta, while a guest of the Castiglioni family in Angera, discovered marsh gas, or methane, here.