Lake Orta (Italian: ''Lago d’Orta'') is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, west of

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest l ...

. It has been so named since the 16th century, but was previously called Lago di San Giulio, after Saint Julius (4th century), the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the region. Its southern end is about by rail to the northwest of the city of

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

(located on the main Turin-Milan line), while its northern end is about by rail south of the Gravellona-Toce railway station, itself located halfway between Ornavasso and Omegna. Its scenery is characteristically Italian, while San Giulio island has some picturesque buildings, and takes its name from the local saint, who lived in the 4th century. Located around the lake are

Orta San Giulio Orta San Giulio is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara. The town itself is built on a promontory which juts out from t ...

, built on a peninsula projecting from the east shore of the lake, Omegna at its northern extremity, Pettenasco to the east, and

Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...

to the west. It is supposed that the lake is the remnant of a much larger sheet of water by which originally the waters of the

Toce The Toce () is a river in Piedmont, Italy, which stretches the length of the Val d'Ossola from the Swiss border to Lake Maggiore into which it debouches near Fondotoce in the commune of Verbania. The river is long and is formed in the upper V ...

flowed south towards Novara. As the glaciers retreated the waters flowing from them diminished, and were gradually diverted into

. The inaugural

European Rowing Championships The European Rowing Championships is an international Rowing regatta organised by FISA (the International Rowing Federation) for European rowing nations, plus Israel which, though not a member of the European federation is treated as a Europea ...

were held on Lake Orta in 1893. Frequent ferry service connects towns and villages around the lake.

Gallery

Isola di San Giulio.jpeg, View from Corconio Torre di buccione.jpeg, Tower of Buccione Croce di Egro.jpeg, View from croce di Egro

References

*
CNR - ISE: Laghi

External links

* Lake Orta at World lake databas

*
Orta.net
Pictures, history and curiosities about lake of Orta {{DEFAULTSORT:Orta, Lago di

Gallery

See also

References

External links