Comune di Stresa
Location of Stresa in Italy
Country	Italy
Region	Piedmont
Province	Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (VB)
Elevation	200 m (656 ft)
Area	33 km² (13 sq mi)
Population (as of 31-07-06)
- Total	5,105
- Density	155/km² (401/sq mi)
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates	45°53′0″N, 8°31′0″E
Gentilic	Stresiani
Dialing code	0323
Postal code	28838
Frazioni	Brisino, Carciano, Levo, Binda, Passera, Someraro, Vedasco, Magognino, Stropino, Alpino, Mottarone, Isola Bella, Isola Pescatori. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Piedmont ( Piemonte; Piedmontese and Occitan: Piemont; French: Piémont) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. In Italy, a Province (in Italian provincia) is an administrative division of intermediate level between Municipality ( Comune Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (Italian Provincia del Verbano Cusio Ossola) is the northernmost province in the Italian region of Piedmont Central European Time ( CET) is one of the names of the Time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. UTC+1 is used in the following locations Central European Time West Africa Time Western European Summer Time A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a People or the inhabitants of a place Here are a list of area codes in Italy. All numbers here begin with the country code (0039 A frazione, in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a Comune; for other Administrative Dextrorotation and levorotation (also spelled laevorotation) refer respectively to the properties of rotating plane Polarized light clockwise (for dextrorotation Isola Bella is the name of two Italian islands Isola Bella (Sicily off the east coast of Sicily near Taormina Isola Bella (Lago Maggiore
Patron	Sant'Ambrogio
Website: http://www.comune.stresa.vb.it/

Stresa, as seen from the Borromean Islands

Stresa is a small town of about 5,000 inhabitants on the shores of the Lago (Lake) Maggiore and situated on the road and rail routes to the Simplon pass in the region of Piedmont in Italy. A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan Lake Maggiore (in Italian: Lago Maggiore or Verbano) is the most westerly of the three large prealpine lakes of Italy and the second Simplon Pass ( Italian: Passo del Sempione) (2008 m /6589 ft) is a high Mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Piedmont ( Piemonte; Piedmontese and Occitan: Piemont; French: Piémont) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Since the early 20th century, the main source of income has been the tourist trade. Like other locations on Lago Maggiore, it benefits from spectacular views as well as areas of historical and architectural interest.

History

The name of this town first appeared in documents in 998.

In the 15th century it grew into a fishing community and owed feudal allegiance to the Visconti family. It subsequently came under the control of the Borromeo family.

For centuries Stresa has been a popular retreat for Europe's aristocrats, who have endowed the town with a number of villas. Tourism increased substantially after tunneling of the Simplon Pass allowed train service from north of the Alps to pass through Stresa, in 1906.

One famous visitor in 1948 was Ernest Hemingway who set part of his novel Farewell to Arms in the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromees and in 2002 Stresa hosted the 10th International Hemingway Conference. Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21 1899 — July 2 1961 was an American novelist short-story writer, and Journalist.

Stresa is also known for hosting two political conferences in the 20th century:

• In 1935, in which the UK, Italy and France decided to form the Stresa front to combat and contain Nazi Germany and re-affirm the Treaty of Locarno. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Stresa Front was an agreement made in Stresa, a town on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Italy between French foreign minister Pierre Laval, British Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland on 5 October &ndash 16 October 1925 and formally signed
• In 1958: the foundations for what was later to become the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Economic Community were laid down in Stresa. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Common Agricultural Policy ( CAP) is a system of European Union Agricultural subsidies and programmes The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992

Stresa hosts one of the most important classical music international festivals, "Settimane Musicali", that occurs every year during the summer.

Main sights

• Villa Ducale, commissioned by Giacomo Filippo Bolongaro and dating from about 1770. In 1848 the villa passed to the Italian philosopher Antonio Rosmini-Serbati and today it houses the International Centre for Rosminian Studies. Blessed Antonio Rosmini-Serbati ( March 25, 1797 - July 1, 1855) was an Italian Roman Catholic Priest and
• Villa Dell'Orto built in 1900. It was commissioned by the painter Liberto Dell'Orto and designed by Boffi.
• The large Villa Pallavicino, between Stresa and Belgirate. It was the inspiration of Ruggero Bonghi in the 1850s and now is the site of a zoological park. Ruggero Bonghi ( 20 March 1826 - 22 October 1895) was an Italian Scholar, Writer and Politician

Transportation

Regular boat services from the town's two docks provide access to the nearby Borromean Islands and a 20 minute cable car ride leads to the summit of Monte Mottarone, with the Giardino Botanico Alpinia en route. The Borromean Islands (It Isole Borromee) are a group of three small Islands and two Islets in the Italian part of Lago Maggiore, located in the The Giardino Botanico Alpinia (4 hectares is a Botanical garden specializing in Alpine plants located at 800 m altitude above Stresa on Lake Maggiore

180 degree panorama of Lake Maggiore from the docks of Stresa

External links

• Official site (Italian)
• Home - Stresa Festival - Settimane Musicali di Stresa e del Lago Maggiore] (English)
• Tourist Information (English)