Laveno Mombello

Finally, an exploration of the Lombardy shore of Lake Maggiore is incomplete without a visit to Laveno, a very popular seaside resort that can be reached both from land by train (both regional and national) and by ferry from the Piedmont side of the lake.

The present municipality was the result of the merging of the municipalities of Laveno, Mombello and Cerro that took place in 1927: Laveno itself has been inhabited since the Roman and Medieval periods, being home to both fisherman and illustrious noble families such as the Visconti and the Borromeo, while Mombello is even older, with the remains of pile dwelling settlements dating back to the Neolithic period having been discovered in the village. 
An area dominated by the imposing Sasso del Ferro (1,100 meters), reachable in 10 minutes by cable car, the mountain is considered one of the most stunning viewpoints on Lake Maggiore, with a unique view that takes in Lake Maggiore, the Alps, the Prealps, the Lombardy lakes and the Po Valley. 

But the charm of Laveno does not end with its landscape features. Among the most popular historical attractions we find Villa Frua, an eighteenth-century building built at the behest of the Tinelli family (and later taken over by the Frua family) that hosted Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1862 and which is now the site of the Municipality of Lavello Mombello town hall. As testimony to its history as a centre of ceramics, the village is home to the International Museum of Ceramic Design in Cerro (MideC), which can be visited inside the 16th century Palazzo Guilizzoni.