Stresa

Stresa
Comune di Stresa
Stresa and Lake Maggiore
Stresa and Lake Maggiore
Coat of arms of Stresa
Location of Stresa
Map
Stresa is located in Italy
Stresa
Stresa
Location of Stresa in Italy
Stresa is located in Piedmont
Stresa
Stresa
Stresa (Piedmont)
Coordinates: 45°53′01″N 08°32′22″E / 45.88361°N 8.53944°E / 45.88361; 8.53944
CountryItaly
RegionPiedmont
ProvinceVerbano-Cusio-Ossola (VB)
FrazioniBrisino, Campino, Carciano, Levo, Binda, Passera, San Giovanni, Someraro, Vedasco, Magognino, Stropino, Alpino, Motta del Santo, Mottarone, Isola Bella, Isola Pescatori, La Sacca
Government
 • MayorMarcella Severino
Area
 • Total
35.36 km2 (13.65 sq mi)
Elevation
200 m (700 ft)
Population
 (1 January 2021)[2]
 • Total
4,600
 • Density130/km2 (340/sq mi)
DemonymStresiani
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
28838
Dialing code0323
Patron saintAmbrose
Saint day7 December
WebsiteOfficial website

Stresa is a comune (municipality) of about 4,600 residents on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the Italian region of Piedmont. about 90 kilometres (56 mi) northwest of Milan. It is situated on road and rail routes to the Simplon Pass.

History

The Grand Hotel in Stresa

The name of the town first appeared in documents on 15 January AD 998 as "Strixsya"; later "Strexia", "Strexa" and "Stresia" were used.[3] In 1014 Stresa was donated by Emperor Henry II to the female Benedictine monastery of San Felice of Pavia.[4] In the 15th century it grew into a fishing community and owed feudal allegiance to the House of Visconti of Milan.[citation needed] It subsequently came under the control of the Borromeo family.

In 1948 American author and journalist Ernest Hemingway visited the town; he had set part of his 1929 novel Farewell to Arms in the Grand Hotel des Îles Borromées.

Stresa hosted a number of political conferences in the 20th century, including in:

The cable car to Monte Mottarone

Transport

EuroCity train services connect south to Milan and north to Bern and Basel. Ferry-boat service from the town's two docks provides regular access to the nearby Borromean Islands.

Until its May 2021 deadly disaster[5][6] the Stresa-Alpino-Mottarone Cable Car offered a 20-minute ride to the summit of Monte Mottarone, with the Giardino Botanico Alpinia en route. As of late 2023[7] this is to be rebuilt in 2024 and reenter service in summer 2025.

Main sights

Villa Pallavicino
A panorama of Lake Maggiore from Stresa pier

Famous buildings of Stresa in movies

(Information from the Dizionario del Turismo Cinematografico)

Stresa in fiction

  • Good Blood by Aaron Elkins (2004), Berkley Prime Crime, ISBN 0-425-19411-6
  • A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway

References

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. ^ Dizionario di toponomastica. Torino. 1990. p. 753. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Andenna, Giancarlo (2002). Linea Ticino : sull'unità culturale delle genti del fiume nel Medioevo (in Italian). Bellinzona: Humilibus consentientes. pp. 64–65.
  5. ^ "Incidente alla funivia Stresa-Mottarone, caduta una cabina: sono salite a 13 le vittime". La Stampa. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Italie : le gouvernement promet de faire toute la lumière sur l'accident de téléphérique". Le Monde (in French). 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Accordo per la nuova funivia del Mottarone". 24 November 2023.