Description of the attraction
Isola Madre is the largest island in the Borromean archipelago, located on Lake Lago Maggiore. Today, it houses several buildings and architectural structures, as well as world-famous gardens. In the past, the island was known as Isola di San Vittore and Isola Maggiore.
Some historical sources report that already in the middle of the 9th century there was a church and a cemetery on Isola Madre, which is reflected in the name of Scala dei Morty - "Ladder of the Dead", which is located in the garden of the island. It is also reliably known that olives were grown on the island already at that time. In 1501, Lancillotto Borromeo, one of the five children of Giovanni III Borromeo, began to grow citrus fruits on Isola Madre, the cuttings of which he specially brought from Liguria with a gardener. Lanchillotto built a family residence on the island, which was expanded and redesigned in the Renaissance style in the 1580s by order of Renato I Borromeo.
Today, Palazzo Borromeo, built on the foundations of an old church, cemetery and possibly the castle of San Vittore, is surrounded by an unforgettable park - the Isola Madre Botanical Garden (Giardini Botanici dell'Isola Madre). The total area of this English-style garden, planted at the end of the 18th century, is over eight hectares. Its attraction is the aforementioned Scala dei Morty, which was decorated with luxurious wisterias in the past. The botanical garden itself consists of seven terraces, where you can see cypresses, rhododendrons, magnolias, maples, palms, which are more than a hundred years old, and one of the very first Italian collections of camellias. The so-called African lane - Viale Africa - is located on the sunny side of Isola Madre. And in Piazzale dei Pappagalli, parrots, peacocks, pheasants and other birds live.
The Borromeo family chapel, built in 1858, deserves attention as well: in contrast to the chapel of the same name on the Isola Bella island, this one does not contain any graves or tombstones.
