I have a fantasy, and you won’t be surprised that it involves gardens. My fantasy is to return each September to the shores of Lake Maggiore.
I will sit on the terrace of Villa Aminta, and enjoy my breakfast while I look out over the Borromeo islands of Isola Bella and Isola Madre.
In truth, I have already lived this experience through Huron Tours led by John and Katie. Since this is an annual tour they offer, I fantasize signing up to return each year. You could go too!. What could possibly be more glorious?
Isola Bella is home to the ten-level terraced garden described by some as a wedding cake. It was designed and commissioned by Count Carlo III for his wife, Isabella. Rising from barren rock in the mid 1600’s, the garden surrounding the Baroque palace remains a magnificent place to experience.
Approaching the terraced garden, you look up at a massive flying unicorn statue, the symbol of the Borromero family. Climbing the wide staircase lets you look into the garden or out to Lake Maggiore. Structures more than plants are featured here. Built as a symbol of love, aristocratic power, and wealth, it seems no flat space is left bare.
Each pillar is decorated by a symbolic statue, and shell-lined grottos are repeated symmetrically. It was a time in history when wealth and power demonstrated power over nature.
Isola Bella is a lot to take in, climbing rough-textured stairs, touching the shell-covered walls, watching each step, finding another statue with a fierce face or sea creature staring back at you.
Sculptured hedges, patterns, pots, and intricate pathways are everywhere.
Isola Bella is a garden to look at, but Isola Madre is a garden to wander. But first you have to climb up,
Isola Madre (to honor Borromoro mother, Margherita Trivulzio) was first an agricultural estate, planted with vines, figs, olives, chestnuts, and cherry orchards. It is easy to forget how essential it was to grow food for the household.
The mild climate allows a wide variety of plants, with papyrus, orchids, citrus groves, ornamental pools, and roaming exotic birds.
Parrots, song birds, and the Golden, Silver, and Lady Amherst pheasants put on quite a show. It wasn’t mating season, but there was an active pursuit of the hens racing over the lush lawns.
A prime feature of the garden is a 200-year-old Kashmir Cypress tree, which is now anchored with steel cables attempting to keep it upright after a terrible storm destabilized it in recent years. An interesting reminder that nature cannot always be dominated by wealthy, powerful people.
The garden surrounds the villa, and views of the garden and the lake from the windows are regal. The water’s edge is downhill, and grand staircases feature prominently, underscoring the location’s exclusivity. The desire for a home with a garden (grand or humble) continues through the centuries. Isola Bella and Isola Madre are very grand gardens.
It’s not the type of garden one would expect to build today. How remarkable and wonderful it is to visit here all these years later.
The Borromeo family was and still is a powerful aristocratic dynasty in northern Italy, especially around Lake Maggiore. Prominent during the Renaissance, they shaped politics and religion, producing figures such as Charles Borromeo and numerous cardinals in the Catholic Church.
Their patronage of art and architecture, including the Borromean Islands, cemented their enduring cultural and historical legacy. The gardens are still owned by the family and are a destination for gardening fans and general tourism. I am delighted I have been there. Yes, in my fantasy I would definitely go back.
