Meina | Stylish Town of Villas on Lake Maggiore

 

Meina, charming town on the western shore of Lake Maggiore in the province of Novara, known as  the town of villas due to the remarkable presence of noble residences scattered throughout its territory between the hills and the lake at the mouth of the Tiasca stream.

 Historically already known during the Bronze Age, Meina in 1389 was one of the villages of the Vergante community, experiencing chronological stages that saw it as a possession of the Visconti, Borromeo, Counts Aronesi and then entering into a stable settlement in the Savoy Kingdom.

Favourite destination for Novara aristocrats such as Regibus, Faraggiana, Fossati and Caccia – Piatti and the Lombard – Piedmontese upper middle class with the Bedone, Galli, Luoni, Favini, Bonomi, De Savoiroux, Mondadori, Faraone who chose this charming place as their second residence acquiring various historic buildings enjoying the mild climate of Verbano.

On the Strada Statale del Sempione you will have the opportunity to admire various elegant villas on its course, the first will be Villa Farraggiana - Ferrandi, a beautiful neoclassical residence erected in 1852 by the architect Antonio Busser of Galliate as the residence of Senator Raffaele Farraggiana.

That villa boasts a façade that boasts a series of busts of famous Italian personalities carved in Viggiù stone by Giosuè Argenti and a tympanum that somewhat pompously depicts "Fame".

At the beginning of the 20th century that mansion was home to a zoological garden, a zoological and ethnographic museum integrated into a chalet on a slope and today boasts a Botanical Museum in a park of over 70 hectares wanted by Catherine Ferrandi, wife of the Senator.

Afterwards you can admire Villa Pasta - the Favorita built in 1866 perched on a hill highlighted by a beautiful English garden with neoclassical and Art Nouveau shapes.

Also of considerable charm are Villa Kitzerow, a neoclassical aristocratic residence of the '800 and Villa Faraone, formerly Villa Collano, of the same period and architectural style that boasts an attractive Italian garden and a splendid baroque gate.

A further one is Villa Eden,a magnificent expression of neo-Palladian matrix with a façade embellished with refined pillars, columns with the presence of staue and a fountain surrounded by a large park.

Villa De Savoireux, built in the 18th century by the architect Linati, became the residence of the Benedictine monks who were replaced in the monastery of Aronese by the Jesuits. The villa is surrounded by a large park with tall trees including many chestnut trees and for this arboreal presence also called "Castagnara".

Entering in the heart of Meina is the Parco della Fratellanza with a section used as a beach and another green area that once belonged to the nearby Villa Galli – Gatti – Grami designed in 1870 by the Novara architect Ercole Gallarini as the home of his aristocratic fellow citizens or the Galli notaries who then sold it to the Gatti – Grami family bound to the noble Gonzaga dynasty.

That residence integrated into its spaces a pharmaceutical laboratory directed by Dr. Anselmo Gatti – Grami who was previously an officer of the Royal Army of the House of Savoy.

On the promenade of the lake with its pier used for the mooring of the boats of the Navigazione del Verbano there are the adjacent gardens of Piazza Marconi developed in the twentieth century to complete the design near the old local dock which was splendidly modernized.

In Piazza Carabelli is situated the Town Hall built in  the late 800 with different materials such as white and pink granite from Baveno and serizzo containing a fresco on the ceiling made by the artist Eleuterio Pagliano depicting an Allegory of the family.

On the road that connects this building to the cemetery you will find the beautiful Church of the Annunciation, called by the locals "Church of the Madonnina", which was originally a chapel erected on the ruins of a previous structure of Lombard pagan origin, devoted to the cult of  the Matrones, divinities linked to fertility before the advent of Christianity.

The church boasts 15th century frescoes and paintings of the Novara school, works by the artist Orellis assisted by his son Astulfo works that depicted the Virgin Mary enthroned with the Child, St. Sebastian and St. Rocco work inserted in a Baroque frame.

Above the painting was placed an image of the Madonna dispenser venerated by the locals and who gave the nickname to the church.

Further works were carried out in  the 16th century when the church was built thanks to generous donations from a well-known local figure called Bartolomeo Viotti who enlisted in the Army of the Republic of Venice during the conflict of the lagoon city with the Ottoman Empire.

The interior also contains a tomb with the remains of Francesco Luatti,  a nobleman from Arona who was very close to Meina.

Continuing along Via Mazzini with the Church of Santa Margherita , patron saint of Meina, consecrated in 1785 flanked by a bell tower of Baroque matrix with an ossuary of the 600s in its back and containing valuable frescoes by the Vigezzino artist Lorenzo Peretti.

These frescoes depict the Glory of Saints Charles, Margaret and the plague victims, while another work by Defendente Peracino features Sant' Ambrogio fighting against the pagans dating back to 1817 and located in the apse.

There are also two chapels dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows of the Sacred Heart and fine Baroque stuccoes.

Continuing on, you will enter in the Piantini district, where the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary  stands, built in 1958 at the behest of the residents, then arriving in  the hamlet of Ghevio, in front of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo with its imposing medieval bell tower that boasts a height of 30.0 meters. 

Built between the 11th and 13th centuries in Romanesque style, its layout is accompanied by mullioned windows, hanging arches and single-lancet windows.

In the same area you can stop in front of the Oratory of Sant'Anna which dates back to  the Middle Ages when it was dedicated to San Gottardo with an architectural profile of a small temple with a portico and containing a fresco of the sixteenth century depicting the Madonna del Latte.

I then suggest you reach the small hamlet of Silvera where you can see the Oratory dedicated to San Rocco , a small building with splendid baroque lines built in 1684.

Time for your lunch I suggest staying in the traditional local gastronomy first courses to choose between Tagliolini with Bettelmatt or Risotto with Merlot, second courses to choose between Mixed Fried Lake with Salad or Roast Chicken with Onions.

Visiting Meina will be a great experience, the beauty of Lake Maggiore is absolutely unique and the town of villas is a superb highlight will enchant you.

 

Link : https://www.comune.meina.no.it/

Where to Stay | Recommended Accomodation

Hotel Bel Sit

Resort Antico Verbano