Jozef Imrich, name worthy of Kafka, has his finger on the pulse of any irony of interest and shares his findings to keep you in-the-know with the savviest trend setters and infomaniacs.
''I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.''
-Kurt Vonnegut
The resort town of Stresa on Lake Maggiore is the perfect Italian base for travellers seeking serenity, with a touch of history and island-hopping.
It’s summer on the Italian lakes and the chorus of celebs, content creators and influencers is in full song: “C’mon, baby, do the Lake Como-motion … come on, come on, do the Como-motion with me.”
Last year a record 5.9 million people descended on Lake Como, the smallest of Italy’s three major northern lakes, according to the governmental ferries service, Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi (GGNL). Visitor numbers this year, which notably included Kim Kardashian and Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton going out for a spin on a private motorboat in September, are expected to be much higher.
Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées. Alamy
The Ernest Hemingway Bar at the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées. Alamy
And how’s the serenity? Well, it’s not what it used to be. “Como’s too crowded,” complained an American woman as we chatted on a train bound for Stresa on Lake Maggiore. A regular visitor to Italy, she was hoping Stresa would be calmer. “It is,” I assured her. “The non-stress levels at Stresa have to be seen to be believed.”
Lake Maggiore is roughly one and a half times the size of Lake Como but gets only half of its visitors – 2.9 million in 2025 according to GGNL. I had visited Stresa briefly just 10 days before and liked it so much that I just had to go back, sacrificing holiday time in Switzerland and France to do so.
Stresa became fashionable in the Belle Époque era, particularly with the opening of the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées in 1863. Notable guests over the years include Princess Margaret, Clark Gable, Rockefeller, Charlie Chaplin, and Winston Churchill and Clementine Hozier on their honeymoon.
Ernest Hemingway spent a week at the hotel in 1918 while recovering from leg wounds he sustained as an American Red Cross ambulance driver on the Italian front. He visited the nearby Borromean Islands, played a lot of billiards and consumed many martinis. His experiences are memorably reflected in his novel A Farewell to Arms, published a decade later.
Stresa ferry times. Alamy
I would have loved to have done the same – my writing sparkles more with martinis – but it would have been A Farewell to All My Cash. A night in the huge Hemingway Suite at the hotel can cost upwards of $4500. But visitors can savour the atmosphere over drinks or meals at its restaurant and bars; likewise at the other splendid hotels that line Stresa’s scenic esplanade, such as the Regina Palace, Villa e Palazzo Aminta and Grand Hotel Bristol.
Stresa is compact and enjoyably walkable – its population is just 4500 compared to about 83,000 in Como. It’s best to ditch your map and wander up alleys that look interesting. Most of them do! Cafes and restaurants abound.
If I had to recommend one, I’d pick Ristorante Pizzeria Mamma Mia in Via Principe Tommaso. The lamb cutlets were delicious and its panna cotta with red berries was the best I had in Italy. One night the restaurant was quiet and intimate; on another everyone was singing ABBA’s MammaMia. Perhaps they’d had too many martinis and spritzes.
The main reason to visit Stresa, though, is to walk the gangways to heaven. Get your ticket, the Bigliettodiliberacircolazione, at the ferry terminal just across the esplanade from Stresa’s cute town hall. It’s an all-day, island-hopping, free-circulation ticket offering access to the three main Borromean Islands – Isola Madre, Isola Bella and Isola dei Pescatori (also known as Isola Superiore) – as well as nearby pretty lakeside towns such as Baveno and Pallanza. And it’s a bargain at €16.90 (about $27).
The Borromeos were and still are a fabulously wealthy family who have owned the Isola Madre and Isola Bella for hundreds of years. During that time, they have entertained the likes of Queen Victoria, Prince Charles and Diana, and Emperor Leopold II of Habsburg-Lorraine.
The baroque-style gardens of Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella. Getty Images
Napoleon’s Room with the bed he slept in when visiting Palazzo Borromeo. Alamy
Napoleon Bonaparte caused a stink there in 1797 when he invited himself over with his wife Josephine and an entourage of about 60 people. You can view the actual bed that Napoleon and Josephine slept in on a tour of the Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella. The bedposts and bedside curtains would dwarf adult giraffes!
There are gardens-only and palace-and-gardens ticket options for each island, but you’ll save €10 by getting a combined Isola Madre and Isola Bella see-everything ticket. Some people prefer the more restrained Madre, but I’m all for Bella’s wow factor. The gardens – 10 cascading terraces adorned with multiple statues – are among the best you’ll ever see. Inside and out, there are eye-openers everywhere.
Borromeo Villa chapel garden on Isola Madre. Alamy
Beautiful gardens of Isola Madre. Getty Images
That said, on Madre, where the residence has been converted into a museum, I was gobsmacked by its puppet theatre collection, one of the best in the world. Spread over three rooms, it features a fantastic array of puppets, sets and clever mechanical devices such as a cloud machine. Much of it is attributed to Alessandro Sanquirico, who in the 1830s was set designer at the Teatro alla Scala (La Scala) in Milan.
Until this point I had imagined the Borromeo family as dour merchant bankers: now I envisaged them as the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice of their day. They must have put on some amazing shows and parties.
Isola dei Pescatori (Fishermen’s Island), the only isle on the lake with a permanent resident population, is as laid-back as can be. It’s just 350 metres long by 100 metres wide, but packs in enough around its little alleyways and edges: cafés, restaurants, bars, hotels, souvenir stalls and fashion racks. The sunrises and sunsets, and the stillness of the water once the ferries and water taxis have vanished, are mesmerising.
Puppet theatre at the Borromeo Palace on Isola Madre. Alamy
I’m tempted to say Stresa is perfect but it has a flaw, albeit one that’s evident only if you arrive by train: its tiny railway station desperately needs a makeover. The ticket window seems perpetually shut, but the café/bar stays steadfastly open. That’s Italy for you. But here at least you can still look around, raise your glass and say, “How’s the serenity?”
The writer flew to Italy and stayed in Stresa at his own expense. On Isola dei Pescatori he was a guest of On Foot Holidays.
