Beautiful village just like Lake Como but without the crowds
While Lake Como may get all the attention, this beautiful village has equally enchanting scenery and none of the crowds.
While Lake Como may get all the attention, this beautiful village has equally enchanting scenery and none of the crowds.
Facing Lake Orta, the quaint hillside village of Orta San Giulio is one of the best destinations for tourists visiting the Verbano Cusio Ossola province.
The village is home to a maze of picturesque narrow cobbled streets, flanked by old stone walls and doorways with triangular architraves. Tiny squares, reminiscent of the campielli of Venice, lined with craft boutiques, antique shops and cafes can be explored by visitors without being piled on top of one another.
The village is in the Province of Novara, in the Italian region of Piedmont and is described as one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
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The island of San Giulio also falls within the municipal boundaries. The only island within Lake Orta, the island is just 275 metres long and 140 metres wide. It takes its name from a local patron saint - Julius of Novara - and is home to picturesque buildings, the most famous of which is the Basilica di San Giulio, which today is a Benedictine monastery. The island has a few permanent families, but most of the houses are holiday or second homes.
It is found near Sacro Monte, a pilgrimage site, a popular destination for small-scale tourism in comparison with the likes of Lake Como and Lake Maggiore. In 2003, Saro Monte of Orta was granted a place on the World Heritage List by UNESCO. Located in a 13-hectare historical park and nature reserve, it includes 21 votive chapels, over 900 frescoes creating real theatrical representations and 370 real dimension polychrome statues of terracotta realised by the best artists of the Lombard school.
One of the best views of Lake Orta is offered from the 15th-century Church of Maria Assunta, from where a flight of steps lead to Piazza Motta, the main square. Yet the view from Sacro Monte of Orta, a complex of late-16th- and early-17th-century chapels is something else entirely.
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Every June, the medieval atmosphere of Orta is celebrated in the Cusio Festival of Ancient Music, when a series of concerts are given in the 8th-century Casa Tallone on San Giulio Island, by internationally famous musicians playing ancient instruments.
Yet the village is also home to modern events, including the Orta in Fiore, a Flower Show-Market held in spring in the main piazza and the annual Ortissima art exhibition.
Praises of Orta San Giulio on Tripadvisor are numerous. One described Lake Orta as “Heaven on Earth”, and pleaded with visitors not to miss San Giulio Island.
Other travellers described the Sacro Monte di Orta as well “worth the journey” and, “for anyone with an interest in European history, history of the reformation and counter reformation or the place and development of artistic expression in Italian culture, this site is a gem”.
“Orta is quieter and far less developed than many of the bigger Italian lakes. Pretty, scenic, relaxed, older buildings, more rural feel,” another said.
