The Island that Appears to Float, Isola Bella. 

Up until the 19^th century in Italy, gardens and garden design was controlled by landscape architects. The change that came was overwhelming, when plant species from around the world came pouring into Italy. New and exotic plants became the driving force in garden design, the designer now being superseded by the plantsmen, for the first time. The north of Italy assimilated this change readily, mainly as the new trees and shrubs lent themselves to the English Landscape park style garden, readily accepted in the North due to the climate, an English ex-pat community and the difficult shape and topography of the lakeside gardens which were not suited to the formal terraced Italian style.  In 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte had invaded Italy from the North and a little later took Lucca, which he gave to his sister. She resided at what was then called Villa Orsiti, now named Villa Marlia and proceeded to change the garden into the English landscape style, less formal and with new imported trees and shrubs from faraway places. The new fashion had been dictated and the change was swift.

There are a few gardens on the lakes that have stood the test of time and remain truly baroque, resisting any change to the English style, thank heavens. One of these is Isola Bella, a garden on Lake Maggiore, Piedmont,  which was commissioned in 1631 by Count Carlo Borromeo III; it was constructed over a 40 year period and can only be described as a baroque masterpiece. Isola Bella is one of the best surviving baroque gardens in Italy and subscribes to the philosophy of using a garden as an overwhelming show of power, knowledge and wealth, an ostentatious display, aimed purely to create shock and awe.

Symbolically the statues look outwards embracing the landscape, acknowledging the move to enlightenment.

 The garden was laid out to look like a galleon on the water and this was achieved; the southern end rises up in terraces like a ships superstructure, forming a truncated pyramid. It has been described as the hanging garden of Lake Maggiore and Monty Don described it wonderfully by saying.

'The garden looks like a mad battleship wearing a party frock'.

The pyramid terrace designed to resemble the stern of a great galleon.

The pyramid is topped by a balustraded terrace where the Borromeo family held lavish celebrations and admired the perfect vistas gained by being 37 metres above the lake. The terraces and the garden in general were planted originally with typical Mediterranean plants such as citrus, until that is the 19^th Century when the new plant imports were reaching Italy from China, India, the Americas, the Himalayas and Australia when these new acquisitions were accepted into the garden.      
The island is of an irregular shape and therefore not suited to the preferred geometric composition normally found with the renaissance and baroque style, the main axis of the garden could not be aligned centrally with the palace; this was cleverly disguised by the architect Angelo Crivelli. Many tons of marble, granite and soil were shipped onto the island to build the palace and garden, a huge and expensive undertaking.  
 

The gardens most impressive feature is the Teatro Massimo, the Maximum Theatre; this can be seen after exiting Diana’s Atrium from a flight of stairs and onto a lawn area where the most magnificent baroque scene presents itself before the suitably impressed viewer.

 

The Teatro Massimo, one of the most splendid baroque statements of power and wealth.

 The water theatre has pilasters, niches and balustrades, everything constructed from granite and tufa pebbles. The niches house statues of gods and goddesses as well as giant scallop shells, the whole creation topped off at the highest point with a rearing Unicorn, the symbol of the Borromeo family. The unicorn was carved in 1673 and is flanked by seated figures representing art and nature.

The rearing Unicorn, the symbol of the Borromeo family is the highest point, ensuring all can see who has the power here.

In the upper central niche sits a giant, personifying Lake Maggiore while below two lesser figures represent the Rivers Ticino and Toce. At the bottom Centre, stands the Goddess Dianna supported on either side by two nymphs. Four obelisks and four sculptures are there to represent the four elements. Air is seen on the left as a woman holding a flowering branch, earth on the right is an old woman holding a branch, water is a mature man on the left and fire is on the right depicted by a man with an anvil holding an arrow. The whole scene is baroque theatre and extravagance at its best, but it has not been, and is still not to everybody’s taste, being described unfavorably at times and seen as garish.

 

Two towers were built on the southern end of the garden; the tower on the west side named The Tower of Noria was constructed in 1633 and housed the pumping system that lifted the water from the lake to supply the gardens irrigation system. The east tower named The Tower of the Winds seen in the photograph was built purely to create symmetry and is now the book shop.

The Tower of the Winds built to create symmetry with the opposite tower that housed the great pumping system.                                                                              
                                                                                                  
   

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Water effects would play in the theatre but unfortunately today it is only partially working but this detracts nothing from the garden. The palace itself is a must see experience, to enjoy it and its treasures along with the garden, allow a day so you can also take a short water taxi trip to the nearby Isola Madre and visit the botanical garden with its exceptional collection of trees and shrubs.
http://www.visitstresa.com/Isola_Bella.htm