What is Arona known for?

35.1-meter copper colossus of San Carlo Borromeo, the tallest visitable statue in the world from 1698 until the Statue of Liberty in 1886. Ruined Borromeo castle above town, birthplace of Carlo Borromeo in 1538 and razed by Napoleonic troops in 1800. UNESCO pile-dwelling site since 2011, Bronze Age stilt settlement in the natural park on the southern edge of the commune.

Arona is a comune in the province of Novara, Piedmont region of Italy, about 45 kilometers from Novara.

Piedmont · Novara

Arona

A Lake Maggiore town at the southern tip of the lake, watched over by a 35-meter copper colossus of San Carlo Borromeo finished in 1698.

45 km / 28 mi

Nearest hub (Novara)

13,694

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Bandiera Arancione

Why come

Arona sits at the southern tip of Lake Maggiore, ninety kilometers north of Milano and the first stop most travellers reach when they leave the city for the lakes. The town came under the Borromeo family in 1439 and stayed there for centuries. The Rocca di Arona on the hill above town was the Borromeo castle and the birthplace of Carlo Borromeo in 1538, later cardinal and archbishop of Milan; the French demolished the fortress in 1800 and only the ruins of the towers remain. On the next hill, the Sacro Monte di Arona holds the Sancarlone, a copper colossus of the saint that stands 35.1 meters with its pedestal, designed by Il Cerano and erected between 1614 and 1698. It was the tallest visitable statue in the world until the Statue of Liberty surpassed it in 1886. The Lagoni di Mercurago natural park on the southern edge of town contains pile-dwelling settlements listed under the UNESCO Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps.

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Gallery

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Known for

Sancarlone
Copper colossus of San Carlo Borromeo, 35.1 meters tall with its pedestal, designed by Il Cerano and built between 1614 and 1698 above the Sacro Monte.
Rocca di Arona
Ruined Borromeo fortress on the hill above town, birthplace of Carlo Borromeo in 1538, demolished by French troops in 1800.
Collegiata di Santa Maria Nascente
Late medieval church on the lakefront, holding a polyptych by Gaudenzio Ferrari completed in 1511.
Parco Naturale dei Lagoni di Mercurago
Regional natural park with Bronze Age pile-dwelling sites included in the UNESCO Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps since 2011.
Lungolago di Arona
Long lakefront promenade looking north up Lake Maggiore, with the rival town of Angera on the opposite Lombard shore.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the best months on the south shore of Lake Maggiore. The lake stays cool, the lungolago carries traffic without congestion, and the ferries run a full timetable to Angera and the Borromeo islands further north. July and August are warm and busy: ferry queues, full hotels, and the southern lake basin gathering most of the day-trip volume from Milano. The Sancarlone hill stays cooler than the lakefront. November through March is quiet, occasionally foggy in the morning, but the town remains open and the Rocca park offers the clearest winter views down the lake.