Lovely views toward the lake from this particular Apartment of about 100 sq m, with nice terrace, small garden and fireplace!
Large livingroom, kitchenette, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Excellent position (hilly area, very peaceful), green surroundings.
Private parking.
The well-known tourist resort of Belgirate is located some 20 km from Verbania, to the south, on the border with the province of Novara. Its old town centre still has traces of its medieval origins. Visitors here can take a peaceful stroll down the narrow alleys while admiring houses with charming loggias, picturesque porticoes and stone flights of steps unwinding between the buildings. The village rises the slopes of Motta Rossa (a hill just under 600 metres high) in a dominating position on Lake Maggiore.
Villas in Belgirate
After trunk road Statale Sempione was opened, the mild climate and beautiful scenery favoured the village's transformation from a fisherman's town to a very popular holiday resort initially for the middle classes and then also for nobility. Several 18th & 19th-century villas are located close to the village and are surrounded by luxuriant parks and gardens embellished with exotic essences. They have provided hospitality to illustrious representatives of nobility and famous intellectuals. Arriving from the south, visitors first come upon Villa Conelli with its Italian garden, followed by Villa Cairoli (where Giuseppe Garibaldi stayed), Villa Carlotta (which once hosted Guido Gozzano, Antonio Rosmini and Alessandro Manzoni and is now a hotel) and lastly, Villa Fontana and adjacent Villa Treves.
Things to see in Belgirate
A pleasant stroll leads visitors to the little gothic Church of Santa Maria (affectionately called Chiesa Vecchia or old church). The church and its 11th-century Romanesque bell tower are located at the foot of Motta Rossa hill and dominate the village. There is a charming view of the lake and surrounding mountains from the churchyard. Inside, a lavishly-carved wooden gilded baroque altar and series of frescoes from the Lombard and Piedmont school stand out. On the right side of the entrance is Saint Uguccione in the middle of cutting a whole cheese. This is nothing more than the Christian requalification of the Celtic divinity Lug, who according to tradition, was depicted while holding up the sun.
The baroque Parish Church (1600's) on the lakeside promenade is also worth seeing; it contains frescoes by Luigi Morgari and stuccowork by Luigi Secchi.
Lastly, a stop should be also made at the Museo Baita della Libertà (Hut Museum of Freedom), which can be toured on request. It was set up in a mountain hut on Motta Rossa hill in honour of some partisans who were killed during WWII, including a young man from Georgia.
