Verbania: Day 2 … Isola dei Pescatori

Our more relaxed attitude towards travel these days means that early departures for sightseeing are now the exception rather than the norm. Hence, it was getting on towards 10:00a when we got in the car and headed to Stresa.

Our destination was the Isole Borromee … aka Borromean Islands. We could have done the boat trip from Pallanza and avoided the traffic on the lakefront road to Stresa. But the ride across Lago Maggiore from Pallanza is longer, and the schedule is less frequent.

Traffic on the lakefront road was bad, but not horrible like it was yesterday. Once we neared Stresa, I used Google Maps to get us to the piers from which the boats ferrying visitors leave for the islands.

We would like to have visited all three islands, but knew that realistically, we had time for just two. Having read the descriptions, we settled on Pescatori — aka Superiore — and Bella.

Purchasing a two-island ticket from VS for €10 each, we hopped on the small boat and sat in the aft deck for the short boat ride. The first stop was at Isola Bella, but neither we nor others with multi-island tickets were allowed to get off then. Not sure why, but we were told that we had to go first to Isola dei Pescatori … Fishermen’s Island. It was a pleasant enough ride on the Lake Maggiore, so we didn’t really mind. The bonus? We got to briefly see Isola Madre, which is further out on the lake.

Long story short, I have to admit to a bit of disappointment with the ambiance of Pescatori … the only one of the islands that is inhabited all year round. The buildings have seemingly been converted into shops or restaurants, with advertisement signs marring much of the streetscape. Didn’t see a single fisherman anywhere.

It’s not that we didn’t enjoy strolling around Pescatori, but it was a far cry from the charming fishing village that the description had led us to expect. I suppose if you like to browse shops or want a seafood meal, it’s a fine place. Just not what we were looking for … especially since it was too early for lunch.

Anyway, we wandered the narrow streets, searching out photo ops … lost ourselves in the maze of back streets, and came out near the Church of San Vittore … parts of which date back to the 9th century. The frescoes in the Chapel of Santa Maria, painted by an unknown master in the 16th century, were an unexpected surprise. In the small port area, we watched grebes and ducks paddling in the water, and stopped to enjoy a small rowboat filled with colorful flowers.

With 30 minutes to spare before the boat was due back to take us to Isola Bella, we were done exploring Isola dei Pescatori. Mui got himself an espresso at a stand-up bar, and then we found some shade on the waterfront and enjoyed the lake scenery while we waited.Leia mais