Lake regions
Piedmont, whose capital is Turin, takes its name from its geographical location at the foot of the Alps. But it's not just a land of mountains. The lakes region (Maggiore and Orta) is famous for its mild climate. Novara, in the province of the same name around Lake Orta, is the region's second most populous city. With over 10 million inhabitants, Lombardy is Italy's most populous and industrialized region, with Milan as its capital. It could almost be divided into two distinct territories, plains and mountains, since the latter make up around 41% of the region. Lombardy's highest point is Punta Perrucchetti at 4,020 m. Veneto, whose capital is Venice, is a region of contrasts between the Alps and the Dolomites, the Po plain, the Adriatic coast and the eastern shore of Lake Garda, of which Verona is the gateway.
Presentation of the lakes
Lake Orta, the westernmost lake, covers an area of 18.2 km2 and lies entirely within the Piedmont region. Its lake island is Isola di San Giulio. The lake overlooks the snow-capped mountains of the Swiss Alps. Easily accessible, you can discover Mount Mottarone, which rises to 1,491 m. In winter, it's a popular ski resort for Italians.
Lake Maggiore straddles Piedmont to the west and Lombardy to the east, with a section on the Swiss side to the north. From the village of Laveno-Mombello, on a clear day, you can see the tip of Mount Massone (2,161 m), Mount Andolla (3,656 m) to the east of Massone, and between the two, Mount Dom, which dominates at 4,545 m. Especially in winter, when the mountains are covered in snow, the views are superb. With a surface area of 212 km2, it is the second largest lake after Lake Garda. Its lake islands, the Borromean Islands, are the most famous of the lakes. Less well known and further north, in the Swiss part of the lake, are the Brissago Islands.
Lake Varese, the smallest - with a surface area of 14.95 km2 - lies entirely in Lombardy. It is thought to have been formed over 15,000 years ago, at the same time as Lake Maggiore, by the retreat of the Verbano glacier. Slightly to the north lies the Campo dei Fiori massif, whose highest point at 1,226 m offers a fine view of the Virginia islet, the lake island.
Lake Lugano - with a surface area of 48.7 km2 - is two-thirds Swiss. It has an Italian enclave in the town of Campione. The Monte San Giorgio fossiliferous zone, a Unesco World Heritage site, lies on the shores of the lake and is "the best-known evidence of Triassic marine life".
Lake Como, 145 km2 in area, is entirely Lombardy. It is the deepest lake - up to 425 m - and the fifth deepest in Europe. As for its inverted Y shape, a saying goes: "Il lago di Como ha la forma di un uomo, una gamba a Lecco e quell'altra a Como, il naso a Domaso e il sedere a Bellagio". Or: "Lake Como is shaped like a man, with one leg in Lecco and the other in Como, the nose in Domaso and the buttocks in Bellagio". It has just one island: Comacina.
Lake Iseo, with its 65.3km2, is also unique to Lombardy. The lake's best-known island is Monte Isola, the largest inhabited island in Europe. Alongside it are two smaller islands: San Paolo Island to the south and Loreto Island to the north.
And finally, Lake Garda, the largest - 368 km2 - and with the clearest waters, shares its shores between Lombardy to the west, Veneto to the east and Trentino-Alto Adige to the north. The lake features 5 small islands.
