Monte Isola (also known by the name of the main island ''Montisola'';
Brescian: ) is a town and ''
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
''in the
province of Brescia, in
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
. It is one of
I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
It is located on the islands
Montisola (the major island, from which it takes the name),
Loreto and
San Paolo in
Lake Iseo and, , its population is 1,770. Monte Isola's population is approximately spread over eleven villages and hamlets. There are several churches built between the 15th and the 17th century with frescoes, statues, altars in vernacular art.
Geography
The municipality covers a total area of ; the main island, Monte Isola, with an area of ranks as the largest lake island not only in Italy, but also in
South and
Central Europe
Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
, but is dwarfed by the large lake islands in Northern Europe. The peak of the island at
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
is above the average surface elevation of
Lake Iseo (), making Monte Isola one of the highest lake islands in Europe.
Monte Isola includes 12 ''
frazioni'': Carzano, Cure, Masse, Menzino, Novale, Olzano, Peschiera Maraglio, Porto di Siviano, Sensole, Senzano, Sinchignano and Siviano.
The bordering municipalities are
Iseo,
Marone,
Sale Marasino,
Sulzano,
Parzanica,
Tavernola Bergamasca and
Sarnico.
There are two main ports Carzano and Peschieria with a frequent ferry service with the surrounding mainland villages, including Iseo.
History
There are indications of a Roman settlement. The first written document mentioning "Insulae curtis" dates from 905, when the island was listed among the properties of the
monastery of S. Salvatore in
Brescia. The family
Oldofredi, rulers of
Iseo, built on the island two strongholds in the 11th-12th centuries. Members of the powerful
Visconti family came here to hunt in 1400. In 1497
Francesco Sforza, duke of Milan, gave the islanders some fishing rights and reduced the taxes. In the same year,
Caterina Cornaro, queen of
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
, resided a while on the island. During the 19th century the main industry on the island was the construction of boats and the manufacturing of fishing nets.
Peschiera Maraglio and Siviano (the municipal seat)
Town hall address on municipal website
/ref> merged in 1929 to create the actual ''comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
''.
In June and early July, 2016, Monte Isola was the site of The Floating Piers by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
Main sights
The single-nave church of San Michele in Peschiera Maraglio was consecrated in 1648. This baroque church is notable for the many frescoes on the walls and on the ceiling and for its wooden carvings.
The shrine of Madonna della Ceriola stands above sea level, the highest spot on the island. It can only be reached by walking from the small village of Cure.
The fortress Martinengo can be reached from Menzino. It was built in the 15th century by the Oldofredi family and enlarged in the 16th century by Martinengo. After a long period of neglect, it has been renovated in an elegant residence by the architect Vittorio Faglia. In 1497 Catherine Cornaro, queen of Cyprus, sojourned here for a short stay.
Transportation
Monte Isola can be reached through a network of ferry connection with regular schedules.
Photogallery
File:Lago d'Iseo.JPG, Aerial view of Monte Isola (both Montisola island, Loreto isle and San Paolo isle) and part of the Brescia shore of the Iseo lake in winter
File:MonteIsola Siviano veduta.jpg, View of Siviano
File:Iseo Lake Lombardy, Italy.jpg, Southern view of Lake Iseo, with Peschiera Maraglio and Sulzano
File:MonteIsolaCeriola.jpg, The shrine of Madonna della Ceriola in the highest point of the island
File:Rocca di Monte Isola.jpg, The fortress of Monte Isola
File:Santa Croce 4.jpg, The streets of Monte Isola decorated with flowers during the Holy Cross week in September
File:Peschiera Maraglio street.jpg, View of the port in Peschiera Maraglio
File:Floating Piers – San Paolo.jpg, View from Montisola of The Floating Piers and the San Paolo isle in the middle, Gallinarga ( Tavernola Bergamasca, province of Bergamo) in the left side of the background, and Clusane ( Iseo, BS) in the right side of the background, 2016
References
External links
Monte Isola official websiteAwarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010
Website of the Santa Croce di Carzano festival
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Lombardy
Borghi più belli d'Italia