Cannero Riviera

The village of Cannero Riviera extends on the Piedmont side of Lake Maggiore. Characteristic of the area are two islets surmounted by suggestive sixteenth century castles, better known as the Castles of Cannero.

Cannero appears for the first time in a document of disposal of real estate in 985. But the municipal independence arrives in the XIV century. In 1524 the Sforza destroy the country as territory loyal to the Visconti. A story with a part have the castles that are placed on small islands. The castle said Malpaga, was the refuge of the Mazzarditi brothers and conquered by Filippo Maria Visconti. The other fortress called Vitaliana is of the XVI century and is the relevance of the Borromeo. Then came both abandoned and in view also of the inviting location were used as a refuge for bandits and counterfeiters and then used again from the Borromeo as citrus grove and rabbit.

Walking in the village you can admire the villas from the lush Mediterranean vegetation (cedars, lemons, oranges, grapefruits, olives), ancient manor houses, a picturesque marina dug in the rock, small tracks typically medieval churches and chapels. Chose it as their residence, Cannero Massimo D’Azeglio and Laura Solera Mantegazza, whose houses you can still admire today. The current parish church of Cannero is dedicated to S. Giorgio and was erected in 1836 on the premises of the old church destroyed by a flood the 14 September 1829. The building, a circular plan with dome, has elegant shapes and an inside very collected and finely decorated. There are preserved the relics of S. Fausto Martyr, transferred from the catacombs of San Callisto in Rome.

Cannero Riviera is also a land of flowers, in particular camellias whose flourishing you can admire, for some specimens, even in winter. His name is linked to water, from the Celtic “Cenn in ar” (tip on the water) or from the latin “singing or Canerum” (Canneto) and the mediterranean climate “Riviera” (added in 1947). Behind it stands the Monte Morissolo, a wooded mountain typically prealpina, dotted with villages. Present on the territory there are some stretches of the defensive system on the Northern Frontier toward Switzerland.