What keeps us afloat? Our dreams!
They say that beauty will save the world, if this is true, then Italy is full of it!
Today, in order to take you far, far away from negative thoughts, I wanted to show you something truly magical. One of the most incredible and magical places that I have seen in Italy, and in general in the world - Isola Bella (Beautiful Island). A small island – like a treasure box in the middle of Lago Maggiore (lake Maggiore) with palaces, white peacocks, unicorns and roses. A place where it seems like nothing bad can ever happen to you. A place where you want to open your eyes wider in order to embrace all this beauty, absorb everything into yourself and hide it in the secret corners of your memory, so that you can return there every time if necessary.
Isola Bella, with Palazzo Borromeo and its famous multi-tiered early Baroque gardens, was founded in the 17th century by Charles III of Borromeo family as a country residence. It was a gift for his wife Isabella (what a lucky woman!). The island with a palace and a theater was a favorite place for aristocrats from all over Europe, Napoleon and Josephine also visited it.
Palazzo Borromeo was built by the architects Francesco Castelli, Filippo Cagnola and Carlo Fontana in the Lombard early Baroque style.
The palace, which is now a museum, most of all amazed me with its huge blue hall with very high vaults - when you look at the palace from outside, you do not expect to see such volumes inside. The grottoes, decorated with shells, where a beautiful naked woman made of white marble rests from the midday heat, also seemed very interesting.
But my favorite part of the island is, of course, the gardens! An incredible harmony of proportions, a selection of plants and surprises around every corner of the garden. The rightful owners of the garden are white peacocks, who are not afraid of anyone and are always ready to proudly demonstrate their luxurious, looking like a fan tail.
The center of the entire composition of the garden is a huge multi-tiered fountain with water plants and sculptures, crowned with a unicorn - the symbol of Borromeo family.
Now the island regularly hosts a festival of classical music.
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