Orta San Giulio

Orta San Giulio lines the eastern shore of Lake Orta with a warren of medieval lanes opening onto a porticoed lakeside square, facing the island where the lake’s patron saint founded his hundredth church. Above the town, a wooded promontory carries a UNESCO-listed Sacred Mount of twenty chapels; below, boats cross constantly to the island’s Romanesque basilica.

Why visit

Lake Orta’s western cousins get the crowds; Orta keeps the poetry. The village is small enough to know in a morning yet layered enough to hold you for days: Piazza Motta and its arcades, steep stone alleys, the water always in view, and the silhouette of San Giulio Island so close you could almost wade to it. What sets the town apart is the pairing of lake and hill — a leisurely waterfront on one side, and on the other the Sacred Mount of Orta, where twenty chapels walk you through the life of Saint Francis with paintings and sculpture while the lake glitters below each opening. Add the island’s basilica and a hamlet of painted walls, and Orta delivers the densest concentration of quiet beauty in the Novara province.

Character and history

The town takes its name and its soul from Saint Julius, who according to tradition founded his hundredth church on the island in the late fourth century, and his remains still rest in the island basilica’s crypt. The medieval borgo grew up under the bishops of Novara, who ruled the lake district for centuries; its stone houses and towers date largely from that era, and the fortress that once made the island impregnable was eventually demolished to build a seminary, leaving the island to its religious vocation. Since the 1970s the island’s seminary buildings have been home to Benedictine cloistered nuns, who since 1984 have also run a school for restoring textiles and tapestries connected with Florence’s Opificio delle pietre dure. The Sacred Mount, begun in the 1590s and shaped in particular by Novara bishop Carlo Bascapé, entered the UNESCO World Heritage list with the other Sacri Monti of Piemonte and Lombardy in 2003.

What to see

Begin at Piazza Motta, the porticoed square on the waterfront where cafés face the boats, then duck into the lanes behind it, where the fourteenth-century Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta stands on the climb above town and the town hall in Palazzo Bossi opens its courtyard on the square. A short boat ride reaches San Giulio Island, whose Basilica of San Giulio is a Romanesque treasure: a carved ambo of grey-green stone from Oira, an eighteenth-century vault frescoed by Giovanni Battista Cantalupi, and the crypt with the saint’s silver urn. The Path of Silence and Meditation circles the island on a cobbled lane with meditative plaques in quiet corners. Above town, the Sacred Mount of Orta and its nature reserve fill a whole half-day, and back on the lakefront the Buccione Tower, a medieval watchtower just south of the centre, is open to visitors on many days.

How to experience

Do the Sacro Monte in the morning, walking slowly between chapels — the art inside rivals the views outside — and descend to the piazza for lunch with the lake in front of you. Cross to the island in the early afternoon, budgeting unhurried time for the basilica and the perimeter path, where silence is the point; nuns singing vespers are sometimes audible from the shore at dusk. Art lovers should not miss the hamlet of Legro: the Murals of Legro turn a lakeside village into an open-air gallery of some sixty works celebrating the films shot around Lake Orta, a theme known as “Cinema on the Wall”. Boats to the island run frequently from the piazza in season, and the lakeside promenade toward Pettenasco makes an easy evening stroll.

Practical planning

Orta San Giulio lies in the Province of Novara, about half an hour’s drive north-west of Novara city and roughly an hour and a half from Milan or Turin. Parking sits at the entrance to the village, since the historic centre is pedestrian only; arrive early in summer to find a space. The railway station at Orta-Miasino, on the Domodossola line, is a short taxi or bus ride from the centre. Boat services to the island run most frequently between spring and autumn. Chapel path, basilica and boat schedules shift seasonally, so check the comune site (comune.ortasangiulio.no.it) before travelling. Comfortable shoes matter — the lanes are steep and cobbled — and shoulder seasons bring the best balance of mild weather and manageable crowds.

Nearby places

• Lake Orta — the whole lake district, with Omegna, Pella and the western shore villages.
• Novara — the provincial capital, an hour south, with its Antonelli dome and medieval Broletto.