Description of the attraction
The Alpine Botanical Garden is spread over an area of 4 hectares at an altitude of 800 meters above the town of Stresa in the Italian region of Piedmont on the western shore of Lake Lago Maggiore. You can get into it by the cable car Lido di Carciano - Alpino - Mottarone. During the warmer months, this garden specializing in alpine flora is open daily.
The botanical garden was founded in 1934 by Igino Ambrosiani and Giuseppe Rossi in a place with breathtaking views of the lake below, the islands of the Borromean archipelago and the surrounding mountains - the Lepontine Alps, Monte Disgrazia, Monte Legnone, Grigne, etc. The territory of the Val Grande National Park is partially visible from here. At the time of its opening, it was one of the first alpine botanical gardens in Italy. Until the end of the fascist regime, it was called "Duxia". Today, the Alpine Botanical Garden is home to about a thousand plant species, mainly characteristic of the Alps and foothills. But there are also species brought from China, Japan and the Caucasus. Here you can see different types of wormwood, bluebells, cornflowers, carnations, geraniums and resin. There are also white maple, downy birch, reed, broom, beech, ash, buckthorn, juniper, loosestrife and other plants.
There is a café and gift shop next to the Alpine Botanical Gardens. And by cable car you can climb even higher, to the very top of Mount Mottarone (1491 meters). This grassy mountain separates the Lago Maggiore and Orta lakes. From the top you can admire the panorama of the Ligurian Apennines, the Alpes-Maritimes and even see the Monte Rosa massif. And the real "pearl" of this panorama are seven lakes - Lago Maggiore, Orta, Mergozzo, Biandronno, Varese, Monate and Comabbio. In winter, Mottarone becomes the main local ski resort.
