Piedmont · Novara
Arona
A town at the southern tip of a lake, watched over by a colossus finished in 1698.
Known for
SANCARLONE
35.1-meter copper colossus of San Carlo Borromeo, the tallest visitable statue in the world from 1698 until the Statue of Liberty in 1886.
ROCCA BORROMEO
Ruined Borromeo castle above town, birthplace of Carlo Borromeo in 1538 and razed by Napoleonic troops in 1800.
LAGONI DI MERCURAGO
UNESCO pile-dwelling site since 2011, Bronze Age stilt settlement in the natural park on the southern edge of the commune.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Why come
Arona sits ninety kilometers north of Milano, the first stop most travellers reach when they leave the city for the lakes. The town came under the Borromeo family in 1439 and stayed there for centuries: the castle on the hill above town was their stronghold, and the next hill over holds the statue raised in the family's honor, so the two high points of Arona both belong to the same lineage looking down on the water and on each other. The lakefront below connects the two hills to the church on the shore and to the promenade that runs north with Angera visible across the water on the Lombard side.
The natural park on the southern edge of the commune sits apart from this Borromeo core, its pile-dwelling remains far older than anything else in town and unconnected to the family's centuries of rule. What the place adds up to is a town organized around one family's presence in stone and copper, with a much older, unrelated settlement preserved at its edge.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Arona’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
What to see
Sancarlone
Copper colossus of San Carlo Borromeo, designed by Il Cerano and built between 1614 and 1698, standing above the Sacro Monte.
Rocca di Arona
Ruined fortress on the hill above town, the walls broken into towers since the demolition, with views over the water below.
Collegiata di Santa Maria Nascente
Late medieval church on the lakefront, holding a polyptych by Gaudenzio Ferrari completed in 1511.
Parco Naturale dei Lagoni di Mercurago
Regional natural park with Bronze Age pile-dwelling sites included in the UNESCO Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps since 2011.
Lungolago di Arona
Long promenade looking north up Lake Maggiore, with the rival town of Angera on the opposite Lombard shore.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Arona fits in a slow Italy circuit.
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We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
StrattoriaRistorante
One Gambero Rosso fork (77/100) for Strattoria, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
BluRistorante
Blu has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
CastagnetoRistorante
Castagneto has a Michelin Bib Gourmand to its name.
CondividereRistorante
A Michelin Bib Gourmand, at Condividere.
Living here
- Population 13,694
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Milan, 1 h 31 min drive
- Regional capital Torino, 1 h 33 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 212 m
- Population: 13,694
- Surface area: 15.17 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
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