- Isola Madre
Infobox Islands
name = Isola Madre
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location =Lago Maggiore
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archipelago =Borromean Islands
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country = Italy
country admin divisions title = Region
country admin divisions =Piedmont
country admin divisions title 1 = Province
country admin divisions 1 = Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
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additional info =Isola Madre, at 220 m wide and 330 m long, is the largest
island of theIsole Borromee archipelago which falls within the Italian part of theAlpine Lake Maggiore , in theProvince of Verbano Cusio Ossola ,Piedmont .The island is occupied by a number of buildings and architectural structures and is especially well-known for its gardens.In the past it was known as Isola di San Vittore and later as Isola Maggiore.History
The available historical sources indicate that in the middle of the ninth century the island had a church , a
cemetery (whose existence is recalled by the current garden’s so-called "scala dei morti", or “Staircase of the Dead”) . It is known for certain thatolive s were cultivated here; the produce may have been employed for sacred purposes.In 1501 Lancillotto Borromeo, one of the five children of Giovanni III Borromeo and Cleofe Pio di Carpi, introduced the cultivation of
citrus fruit to the island, the plants being brought fromLiguria , along with a gardener (or "hortolano") to tend them. Lancillotto began the construction of the family residence on the island, which in the 1580s was extended in therenaissance style by Renato I Borromeo.Monuments
The Palazzo Borromeo was built in the sixteenth century on the remains of the early church, cemetery and perhaps castle of San Vittore (named after the
martyr Victor Maurus ).The palace is surrounded by impressive gardens, the
Giardini Botanici dell'Isola Madre , covering an area of eight hectares whose construction "all’Inglese" (in the English style) began in the late eighteenth century on the site of a citrus orchard. Particularly prized is the "scala dei morti", or staircase of the dead, which in recent decades has been embellished with an important collection ofWisteria s.The family
chapel of 1858 is also noteworthy; by contrast to that of Isola Bella, it contains no tombs orfunerary monument s.
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