Orta San Giulio & Isola San Giulio

Orta San Giulio is among the most romantic small towns in Piedmont, a perfectly preserved medieval village set on a wooded promontory of Lake Orta, the quietest and most intimate of the northern Italian lakes. Its heart is the porticoed Piazza Motta, the salotto of Orta, lined with pastel houses, cafes and the frescoed sixteenth-century Palazzotto, and opening directly onto the water with a view to the little island just offshore. Narrow cobbled lanes climb away from the square past wrought-iron balconies and antique shops, and a short walk leads up to the wooded hill of the Sacro Monte above the town. From the waterfront, small boats make the brief crossing to Isola San Giulio, an islet almost entirely occupied by a Romanesque basilica founded in legend by Saint Julius, who is said to have rid the island of serpents, and by a Benedictine monastery of cloistered nuns. A single lane circles the island as the contemplative Way of Silence and Meditation, marked with reflective inscriptions, and the basilica preserves an exceptional carved black-marble pulpit and medieval frescoes. A relaxed visit to village and island together makes a half day. Lake Orta is busiest on summer weekends, when the village lanes fill and boat queues lengthen; weekday mornings and the shoulder seasons of spring and autumn are far more peaceful and show the lake at its most atmospheric, especially in soft morning light. The village is free to explore and the island reached by inexpensive shuttle boats. Orta is served by the Orta-Miasino railway station and by car, making it an enchanting escape on the northern edge of Piedmont.