| Lake Iseo guide |
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Lake Iseo, also known as Lake Sebino, is the fourth largest lake in the Lombardy region of Italy. Lake Iseo was formed by the Valcamonica Glacier, and is 18 kilometres long and up to 5 kilometres wide. This width is not always obvious as the largest lake island in Europe, Monte Isola, sits in the centre of the lake. Lake Iseo is situated just north of Brescia and Bergamo, this being reflected in the fact that it is administered on the western bank by the Bergamo district council, and on the east bank by the Brescia district council. The River Oglio, flowing down from the Val Camonica and entering Lake Iseo between Lovere and Pisogne, mainly feeds Lake Iseo from the north. At the southern end of Lake Iseo lies the Torbiere, a peat bog and now a nature reserve. South of this lies the Franciacorta valley, producing the best sparkling wine in Italy. On the eastern bank of Lake Iseo, a few kilometres up from the lake, is the Natural Reserve of the Pyramids of Zone, a unique formation of pillars created by uneven glacial erosion. The sixty-kilometre perimeter lakeside is dotted with villages and towns, the main ones being Iseo, Sarnico, Lovere, Pisogne and Marone. These towns are full of historical and cultural interest, yet it is pleasant to stroll along the promenade or linger over a drink in a café. There are a variety of water sports available on Lake Iseo and fishing is popular with the locals, tench being the prized catch. There is a good selection of walking and cycling trails, and in Winter there is skiing north of Lake Iseo.
MAP GETTING THERE Nearest airports to Lake Iseo are All of these airports are within reasonable travelling distance to Lake Iseo. Most international flights come into Milan Malpensa, although the low cost carrier Ryanair uses Bergamo and Brescia. Car: travelling on the Milan Venice motorway (A4) to go to the West bank Of Lake Iseo you would come off at Sarnico junction and on to the SS649. To reach Iseo town, travelling east on the A4, you would also come off at Sarnico exit, and travelling west on the A4 you would turn off at Brescia up the SS510. Public transport: There are regular connections by bus and train to Brescia from all the nearby airports, then connections from Brescia by bus and train to Iseo. The train continues up the east bank to Pisogne and Boario Terme. ISEO TOWN, Lake Iseo Just south of the town are the peat bogs; Torbiere del Sebino is now a nature reserve. Lake Iseo was around 10 metres deeper in the past, but erosion of the bed of the River Oglio at the southern outflow meant that the lake level began to drop, cutting off a shallow basin, which gradually became a large marsh with peaty deposits. During the industrialisation of the 19th century local factories began using the peat as a source of energy, eventually excavating most of the peat deposits. Imagine digging up the peat using a caged spade with a five-metre handle! The Franciacorta region, south of Iseo, has become well known for its sparkling wine. In the mid 1950s a young entrepreneur started to make sparkling wine emulating the method using in the Champagne region of France. This means that the secondary fermentation of the wine occurs in the bottle, a process which takes around two years. Now this valley produces the legally protected Franciacorta wine, assuring it has been hand made using the traditional champagne methods in one of the thirty wineries in the area. Visits to the wineries and tasting sessions can be arranged. Wine lovers may wish to visit for the three days in September for the Wine Festival, with tasting, special meals and visits to cellars. Where to eat in Iseo For some Sarnico is best known as the home of the premier speedboat company Riva. One of the most fascinating aspects of the companys story to me is the journey of Pietro Riva from his hometown of Lagio on the Lake Como to Sarnico in 1842. The young Pietro was travelling to start a new job repairing boats in Sarnico; his 70-mile journey took him two days, travelling by boat, train and coach. His repairs were so successful that he was soon being commissioned to build boats. The boat building business grew under Pietros son, Ernesto, who began producing boats powered by piston engines. In 1912 Ernestos son Serafino achieved a speed of 24 kilometres an hour in a speedboat. Riva became a prestigious brand, sought by the rich and famous as a status symbol. However you no longer see speedboats on Lake Iseo because they were banned for environmental reasons in 1976! Sarnico is home to the Bellini Gallery, a picture gallery exhibiting around 150 pieces, mainly from the period between the 16th and 18th centuries. The Gallery is in the old part of the city and was formerly a nunnery. Also on display are some sculptures and furniture. The Palazzo to Sarnico rail line winds along Oglio River. Volunteers reopened this line recently. TrenoBlu as it is known is often steam hauled. The trains run during the Summer. There are rail connections from Bergamo and Milan. Just outside Sarnico, heading east, stands the Faccononi villa, designed by one of Italys best Art Nouveau architects, Sommaruga, for the wealthy Faccanoni family. The villa on the lakeshore exemplifies Sommarugas trademark Floreale style. Where to eat in Sarnico The stretch from Tavernola north constitutes the most dramatic stretch of the west bank. Just try to blot out the quarry at Tavernola! Riva is a pretty fishing hamlet, full of arches and alleys. The old centre is up the hill at Zorzino. The Zorzino Bong, with its vertical slabs of limestone plunging Mount Clemo, creates its own enclosed bay. Further north is the Castro Bogn. The English writer and poet Lady Mary Wortley Montagu lived in a villa on the outskirts of Lovere in the 1740s. Lady Mary is said to have written many letters to her daughter in the villa garden, and been inspired to write poetry by the beauty of her surroundings. In fact she declined an invitation to the Venice carnival saying, there are plenty things to do in this village which, by the way, is one of the most beautiful that exists. Lady Mary came to live in Italy in 1741, supposedly for health reasons, although it is thought that she no longer wanted to live with her husband. Lady Mary had travelled to Turkey as wife of the British Ambassador and there she came across the practice of inoculation against smallpox. She had her own children inoculated but was never given proper credit for introducing the practice in Britain. Lady Marys daughter married Lord Bute, who became prime minister of Britain in 1762, a year after Lady Marys death. Lovere has another literary connection in Georges Sand, the French novelist, who wrote of Lake Iseo to a friend in London, Come, I have found a lovely place to live. Georges Sands real name was Aurore Dupin, but she had taken a mans name as it was not deemed suitable for ladies to be novelists in the 19th century, and she often dressed as a man. She had a long-standing affair with Chopin. After their break up in 1847 she wrote the novel Lucrezia Floriana. The romance between a young Italian noble and an older lady is set on Monte Isola. It is said that this novel inspired many visits by ladies seeking romance to the area! In 1854 Lovere joined the industrial revolution, with the development of the first large steel complex in the region. Lovere prospered as an industrial centre until the 1980s, but this has left a scar on the landscape. At the end of the 17th century, Pisogne was home to the notorious bandit Giorgi Vicario. There was not much brotherly loyalty between the bandits as Vicario tracked down and killed Giuseppe Techi for a reward. Techis head was delivered on a tray decorated with bay leaves to the authorities. A double whammy, a reward and less competition locally! Pisogne hosts the local festival of mushrooms and chestnuts on the last Sunday in September. Where to eat in Pisogne Marone is situated in a beautiful spot in a green valley at the foot of Monte Guglielmo. There are ruins of a first century Roman villa, Co del Hela as you enter the town. On the lakeside is the Parrocchiale di tours, an 18th Century Baroque style church with a marble altar. Marone was well known for production of woollen cloth and felt and the quarrying of dolomite. Nowadays tourism is the main industry. A few kilometres uphill from Marone on the road to Zone lie the Earth Pyramids. They are an amazing sight: thin spires of earth up to 30 metres high, with large granite masses perched on top almost like hats. The Pyramids are not static as they can erode, causing the boulder to fall and gradually new pyramids are created. On the way to the Pyramids is the church of San Giorgio and on the outer sidewall are frescoes painted in the 15th century, including one of San Giorgio slaying the dragon. Further up the hill is the village of Zone. As you ascend you can see what I initially thought was a ski lift, above the road. It is in fact suspended containers, which carry the dolomite down from the Calarusso quarry. In some respects it reminded me of a Swiss alpine village; the air was so fresh and crisp. There are two interesting churches on the Piazza Almici: The octagonal 18th century Beata Veringe di Lourdes and the 17th century Parrocchiale S Giovanii Ballista, containing wooden works of art by Andrea Falconi. The festival of honey is held in the town square at the beginning of August. From Zone there are several walking paths and, if you're feeling energetic, one to the summit of Monte Guglielmo.
MONTE ISOLA, Lake Iseo The population of the island is around 1700, with those not employed in tourism working as fishermen, in boatyards or making nets. In fact, the nets for the goal posts of the 1982 Football World Cup were made locally. Guess what - Italy won the Cup that year! There are still numerous naets, the typical wooden local fishing boats, to be seen. Some of the catch is left outside to dry in the sun in the traditional manner. You can visit a traditional boatyard, Cantiere Nautico in Peschiere Maraglio, and see the construction of the handmade wooden boats. I think that Monte Isola is a charming, tranquil place to visit, still relatively peaceful and relaxing. It is very thickly wooded, when you observe it from the shore its hard to imagine being able to reach the summit. One of the big events on the island is the festival of Corzano, a hamlet that dates back to the 1600s. This only takes place every five years. There are regular ferries from several towns on the lakeshore to the coastal villages in Monte Isola. The most regular is from Sulzano Where to eat in Monte Isola
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