Arona

Arona stands on the shore of Lake Maggiore, at the southern approach to routes across the Alps. A Benedictine abbey dedicated to Saints Gratianus and Felinus was founded here in the eleventh century. Under the Visconti, Arona became a fortified stronghold with a castle and defended harbour.

The Visconti had granted the territory to the Borromeo, a wealthy banking family. In 1439 Vitaliano Borromeo acquired Arona, bringing it into the possessions of the powerful Borromeo family. Carlo Borromeo was born in the castle on the rock above the town in 1538. He later became Archbishop of Milan and a leading figure of the Catholic Reformation. The castle and harbour reflected the town's place on the lake route between the Lombard plain and the Alpine valleys.