Arona

A city and municipality (about 14,500 inhabitants) in the Italian region of Piedmont in the province of Novara, located on Lake Maggiore , 77 km southwest of Locarno , 68 km northwest of Milan , 42 km north of Novara , provincial capital (➤ map)(➤ map). Birthplace of St. Charles Borromeo.

Arona is located near the southern end of Lake Maggiore, on its western shore. The first mentions of the village come from the 10th century; in the 11th century, a Benedictine abbey was founded in what is now Arona, around which a larger settlement developed. In 1439, Arona found itself in the hands of the princely house of Borromeo (earlier it belonged to, among others, the Visconti) and for many years remained part of the practically independent, though formally subordinated to the Duchy of Milan, Borromeo state.

Probably the most famous tourist attraction of Arona is Sancarlone - made of copper plates statue of St. Charles Borromeo (also called Colosso di san Carlo Borromeo), cardinal and archbishop of Milan, who lived in the years 1538-1584, canonized by the Pope in 1610 Paul V. This gigantic, over 35-meter statue (including the granite pedestal 11.7 m high) was commissioned by another Borromeo, Cardinal Federico Borromeo (1564-1631), the founder of the Ambrosian Library, in the years 1614-1697. Originally, it was to be the main element of the "Holy Mountain" (Sacro Monte di Arona), but its construction was not completed (only three chapels were built). The statue stands in the town of San Carlo, north-west of the center of Arona, on a hill overlooking the lake (tourists can enter the interior of the statue and climb to the height of the statue's head, from where you can see the area through the eye sockets and holes in the ears).

The marker stands for one of Arona's main squares, Piazza del Popolo, where is, among others, the church of Santa Maria di Loreto stands; nearby, you can also see the late 11th-century courthouse and the remains of the former port. To the west of Piazza del Popolo, there is a popular park, Parco della Rocca Borromea, marked with marker, where there used to be a fortress (destroyed by Napoleon's army), where St. Charles Borromeo was born. Another Borromean fortress, Rocca Borromeo di Angera, marked with marker on the first map on this page, visible from Arona, e.g. from the vicinity of Piazza del Popolo, but also from the area marked with the marker, the harbor for ferries and ships sailing on Lake Maggiore, stands on the opposite, Lombard shore of the lake.

Having more time in Arona, it is worth visiting two interesting monuments of sacral architecture: the Collegiate Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the church of Santi Martiri (also known as San Graziano). The first of these churches - is a temple in the Gothic-Byzantine style, the history of which dates back to the beginning of the second half of the 15th century (later the church was renovated and modified many times, until the beginning of the second half of the 19th century); it is worth paying attention to the façade, the main altar and numerous valuable works of sacred art inside. The second of the mentioned churches is the church dedicated to the martyrs Graziano, Felino, Fedele and Carpoforo, dating (in its current form) from the end of the 15th century, with a façade built by the Jesuits (to whom the church belonged in the years 1572-1773).

• To the south of the center of Arona lies the protected nature park Lagoni di Mercurago , whre you can see the remains of prehistoric palatine settlements listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.