Northern Italy is renowned for its lakes: expansive Lake Maggiore, dramatic Lake Como, and windsurfer's paradise Lake Garda, among others. But one lake in particular may be the most serene of all, a small and unassuming body of water called Lake Orta. Tucked between hills above Lake Maggiore to the east and the beginning of the higher Alps to the west, Orta lies in the Piedmont region, partially under the province of Novara. In fact historically it was the Bishops of Novara who controlled the region, building in the 9th century the magnificent Basilica San Giulio on the Isle of San Giulio, just offshore from the charming medieval town of Orta San Giulio. Both are well worth a visit: arrive for the Ortafiori festival in the spring, when the town is awash in azaleas, rhododendrons, hortensias and many other flowers from the lake's shores. Orta and the Isle enjoy a steady stream of visitors during the warmer months, though few of these visitors venture into the hinterland above the lake, or even to some of the less heralded lakeside towns - Orta San Giulio is main resort town on the lake. Therefore for those with an urge to experience more there are many possible itineraries to choose from.

In addition, the outlying or difficult-to-reach position of some of these areas has ensured their isolation down to the present day, meaning that traveling through them is like taking a step backward in time. On the east side of the lake, above the town of Orta, for example, there are a number of beautiful, tranquil locales, places where in the fall everyone over the age of seventy heads out in traditional dress to pick the chestnuts, locales such as Cornonio, Ameno and Miasino. Above the west side of the lake, the terrain becomes rugged, and quickly - the second highest mountain in Europe, Monte Rosa, is only a few kilometers away as the crow flies. The valleys leading up from this side of the lake are twisting and steep, villages perched above them like sentinels awaiting the next band of Turks; however reaching these places is worth the effort, particularly on foot. Hiking/snow-shoeing/backcountry skiing is definitely the best way to reconnoiter this land. Two such itineraries through locales frozen in time are described below, through the Ronco villages above Pella and up the long, tortuous Valle Strona.

For guided trips through region please contact Mario Acciaia: liseap@tin.it, 055-407515. Mario was in fact one the first to discover some of these forgotten locales; the following itineraries are of his creation.