Known for its Mediterranean-like climate and for its beauty, Lago Maggiore (Greater Lake), one of the glacial lakes in Lombardy, which spans also in the canton of Ticino (Switzerland), is the second largest lake in Italy. Isola Bella (Beautiful Island), one of the Borromean Islands of Lago Maggiore, is situated in the Borromean Gulf, 400m from the lakeside town of Stresa. Until 1632, the island (320m long by 400m wide) was only a rocky crag occupied by a tiny fishing village, but that year Carlo III of the influential House of Borromeo began the construction of a palazzo dedicated to his wife, Isabella D'Adda, from whom the island takes its name. He entrusted the works to the Milanese Angelo Crivelli, who was also to be responsible for the planning the gardens.
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