From Allegro Camping you can easily reach places to visit such as: Orta San Giulio with its Sacro Monte, Arona, Madonna del Sasso and Omegna (with its big market). You can also make mountain trips following the various paths leading to Mottarone or you can use the taxi boat or the navigation service for tours on the lake. For more information and deepening see in the Link box
The Ossola Valley
The enchantment of nature in the biggest wilderness area in Europe. A past history rich in events and the remaining art treasures, traditional festivals and genuine food is the pride of the locals.
The Ossola valley, the Northen extremity of Piemonte bordering with Swizzerland has a silent, genuine beauty. It is the junction of a series of mountain ranges- the Anzasca valley with Mount Rosa to the East, the Antrona valley with its steep, imposing slopes, the Bognanco valley with its woods and lush vegetation, well known for it’s famous mineral water springs, the gorges of the Antigorio valley, which continues into the Formazza valley, famous for the immense Toce Waterfall, and last but not l east, the Vigezzo valley- the only one that opens out towards the East, leading to the Northern border of Lake Maggiore and on to Locarno, Swizzerland.
In the Lepontine Alps, which border on to Swizzerland, there are two very interesting natural parks, Alpe Veglia, a lost corner of the earth with its summer grazing and Alpe Devero with its mushrooms, blueberries and rhododendrons, both mountain pastures with vaste green meadows surrounded by larch forests.
The Lake of Mergozzo
The first village that you come across arriving from the Ossola is Mergozzo. This lakeside village is an enchanting holiday location. It is well known for it’s granite quarries which are up in the mountains on the side of the valley that leads to Ossola. The granite was used for building the columns of St. Paul’s in Rome. The pink marble from the nearby Candoglia quarry is used for the Milan cathedral. Above Mergozzo is the Val Grande National Park
Lake Maggiore
When the Carrabean was still a far-off dream, the European elite spent their holidays in the Lake Maggiore region. Aristocratics and intellectuals were attracted by it’s mild climate, lush vegetation, mountain surrounds and magnificent islands. The area around the lakes was called the garden of Europe, not only for its climate, but also for the beauty and vigour of it’s flowers and plants that had been imported from all around the world.
Lakes Maggiore and Mergozzo offer some very suggestive scenery. They have been the scene of many a historical moment, from the medieval to the renaissance and on to the battle against the Austrians. The territory of the lakes was under the dominion of great Italian families for four centuries. The Visconti family first and the the Borromeo family were hosts to famous men of letters, artists and architects, who left their mark in the area’s rich cultural and artistic heritage.Lake Maggiore’s three islands are three magnificent jewels. Isola Bella is sumptuous and eccentric. It was transformed in the 7th century by the Borromeo family into a sort of ideal vessel, with its Baroque palace at the stem and its splendid terraced gardens at the stern. Isola Madre, the biggest of the three has a variety of exotic birds living in the vaste botanical garden surrounding it’s palace. Thirdly, Isola dei Pescatori, the most lively and simple, occupied by a small fishing village, a favourite subject of many local artists and much loved by Arturo Toscanini. Along the road that leads to Mount Mottarone you can enjoy the splendid panorama of the Giardino Alpinia which hosts more than seven hundred species of plants. A day cruise is the best way to discover the various attractions to be appreciated around the lake.During the summer season there are two very important events, Lago Maggiore Jazz Festival and the Stresa Musical Weeks for lovers of classical music.
The Val Grande
The Val Grande, now transformed into a National Park, is the largest wildlife reserve in Europe, such an isolated corner that it seems another world. Silent and breathtaking, protected by the wall of mountains that surrounds it. To pay a visit is a stirring adventure, a journey back in time.