Lake Orta (18 km², the smallest pre-Alpine lake in Piedmont) is the opposite of Lake Como — intimate, quiet, almost unknown to foreign tourists. The Island of San Giulio (400m long, reachable by boat from Orta San Giulio in 5 min, €4 return) is the lake's spiritual centre — the Basilica of San Giulio (5th century, the saint's marble sarcophagus) and the Benedictine monastery (closed to the public). Orta San Giulio is considered Piedmont's most beautiful medieval village — the Sacro Monte (UNESCO 2003, 20 17th-century chapels dedicated to St Francis) is the region's most complete spiritual route. From Milan: 1h 30' by car. From Novara: 30 min (train then bus). From Turin: 1h 30' by car.
Orta San Giulio and the Island of San Giulio
Orta San Giulio (900 inhabitants) has the Piazza Motta (the medieval lakeside square, with the 1582 Palazzo della Comunità), the murals alley and Liberty-style houses with lakeside gardens. The Island of San Giulio (boat from the Piazza Motta jetty, €4 return, every 15 min) has the Basilica (5th century, with the Romanesque black marble pulpit — scenes of saints and fantastic animals on a single slab) and the Benedictine convent (the nuns distribute texts by the founder, the Sisters of Santa Maria Mater Ecclesiae). The Sacro Monte di Orta (UNESCO, 20 chapels 1590-1770, free entry) is a route between chapels with life-size polychrome terracotta statues illustrating the life of St Francis — one of Piedmont's most complete Sacri Monti.
Omegna, Varallo and the Lake Surroundings
Omegna (the town north of the lake, 15km from Orta) is the city of industrial design — Alessi, Lagostina, Bialetti and Calderoni have their historic factories here. The Forum di Omegna (museum of design and daily living, €5) tells the story of Bialetti's Moka coffee pot (invented in 1933 by Alfonso Bialetti). Varallo Sesia (35km from Orta, in Valsesia) has the Sacro Monte di Varallo (UNESCO, the oldest and most extensive of Piedmont and Lombardy's 9 Sacri Monti — 45 chapels with 800 statues and 4,000 painted figures from the 15th to 17th centuries). Lake Maggiore (20km from Orta San Giulio towards Stresa) completes the Piedmontese lake circuit in a day.
Practical tips
The Island of San Giulio can be walked in 20 min — the 'Via del Silenzio' and 'Via della Meditazione' routes alternate spiritual thoughts
Omegna and the Design Forum (Bialetti, Alessi) are 15 min from Orta — an original and often empty museum
Plan your Lake Orta weekend
Orta San Giulio, Island of San Giulio and Sacro Monte — itinerary in 5 minutes.
Plan now
