Lake Iseo
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When people think of the Italian Lakes, Lake Como and Lake Garda immediately come to mind, few will think of Lake Iseo that is situated between the two. That’s a shame because a visit to the lake is just as rewarding, and perhaps more pleasurable since it’s off the usual tourist beat.
Lake Iseo is smaller than Lakes Garda or Como, measuring 15.5 miles and three miles wide. Its tourist industry is also less developed than that of its neighbours with the result that it’s less glitzy and quieter. The lake is surrounded by olive groves, woods of cedar and horse chestnut, and vineyard-studded hills that are dotted by numerous small towns and villages marked by church towers and enviable villas. The lakeside is easy to navigate via a regular ferry service that takes passengers to places like the tiny port of Peschiera Maraglio on Monte Isola, the largest inhabited lake island in Europe; the Franciacorta wine region; and the pretty town of Pisogne. It’s also possible to tour around it by car, foot or bicycle.
Monte Isola isn’t the lake’s only island. The islets of San Paolo and Loreto are privately owned. San Paolo was once the site of a monastery but in 1915 the inventors of Beretta firearms bought the island and built a Neo-Gothic villa. Loreto was also home to a religious order, the Poor Clares, but their convent was replaced by a private villa at the turn of the nineteenth century that looks like a Gaudí-esque folly. It’s possible to have a peek at the villas if you take a boat tour or hire a boat.
There is some industry around the lake, but hardly enough to ruin the otherwise stunning views. Fishing is still an important, if not the main, occupation for lakeside inhabitants and the restaurants surrounding the lake specialise in regional dishes made from catches of trout, perch, tench, and freshwater crayfish and sardines.
If you want to go to the Italian Lakes and buck the trend by going somewhere other than the obvious, I would recommend Lake Iseo.
Lake Iseo boat service: Barcaioli Monteisola, Tel. +39 335 8440916. Website: www.barcaiolimonteisola.it
Lake Iseo Tourist Board, Lungolago Marconi 2/C-D, 25049 Iseo, Brescia, Lombardy, Italy. Website: www.agenzialagoiseofranciacorta.it
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