Castelli di Cannero

A massive restoration project brings the Castles of Cannero back to their former glory. After decades of neglect, the lake fortress that emerges from the placid waters of Lake Maggiore, opposite the towns of Cannero and Cannobio, is reborn to new life. An ambitious project desired by the Borromeo family that intends to return the site to the community with the opening of a museum equipped with the latest technology. 

The Castles of Cannero are two rocky islets located about three hundred meters from the western shore of the lake. On the one furthest from the shore, stands the major fortress named Vitaliana. It is here that the imaginative combination of interactive museum innovation and the priceless historical wealth of the place now comes to life. 

At its origins in the early 15th century, the walls and towers were the focus of the raids and warlike exploits of a family of ferocious brigands from Cannobio, the Mazzardites. Five brothers who built Malpaga, a small fortress razed to the ground following their defeat at the hands of Filippo Maria Visconti in 1414. From 1441 ownership of the fiefdom of Cannobio and the islands of Cannero passed to the Borromeo family, which made it a bulwark in the years of the wars of Italy and the Duchy of Milan and was the architect of most of the works still visible today. One of the most important, is the birth of the Rocca Vitaliana-a symbol of power and prestige-on the foundations of the Malpaga. In 1519 Count Ludovico Borromeo undertook this project, which was completed in 1526. The name Vitaliana honors the Paduan family from which the Borromeo lineage descends. 

In the centuries that followed, the fortress was gradually abandoned, becoming the home of soldiers, forger priests, fishermen and simple tenants, as well as the citrus grove and rabbit hutch of the lineage. In the 19th century its fate took the turn of a mysterious ruin, a source of inspiration for artists and writers. In 1879 Queen Victoria of England, on Lake Maggiore on vacation, called it “a strange ancient castle” adding “in ruins.” The decay of the towers and walls facing the water enhanced, according to the sovereign, the romantic beauty of the place and its mysterious appeal. An extraordinary watercolor painted by the English painter William Turner in 1843 perfectly depicts the wonderment before the walled complex that looks as if it might return at any moment to be submerged by the lake. 

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)