What is Cannobio known for?

Around 300 stalls along the lakefront every Sunday morning, drawing visitors by boat from Locarno and Ascona across the lake. Sixteenth-century pilgrimage church built on the site where in 1522 an image of the Virgin was said to have bled. Narrow gorge of the Cannobino 4 km inland, with the Romanesque church of Sant'Anna above and pools used for swimming in summer.

When is the best time to visit Cannobio?

Apr–Oct. April through June brings the lake gardens into bloom and the Sunday market back to full size. September and October hold warm water and a long shoulder of clear light over the Swiss shore. July and August fill the lungolago with Swiss day-trippers from Locarno and Ascona; the medieval lanes behind the lakefront stay cool through midday. November through March is quiet. Many hotels close, the market shrinks to a third of its summer size, and the Santuario della Pietà rising above the empty quay is the photograph people come back for. The Orrido di Sant'Anna runs full in spring snowmelt.

Cannobio is a comune in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Piedmont region of Italy, about 100 kilometers from Novara.

How do I get to Cannobio?

From Novara, Cannobio is roughly 100 km by road.

Piedmont · Verbano-Cusio-Ossola

Cannobio

A medieval lake town on Maggiore's western shore, host to one of the largest Sunday markets on the lake.

Known for

SUNDAY MARKET
Around 300 stalls along the lakefront every Sunday morning, drawing visitors by boat from Locarno and Ascona across the lake.
SANTUARIO DELLA PIETÀ
Sixteenth-century pilgrimage church built on the site where in 1522 an image of the Virgin was said to have bled.
ORRIDO DI SANT'ANNA
Narrow gorge of the Cannobino 4 km inland, with the Romanesque church of Sant'Anna above and pools used for swimming in summer.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

Why come

Cannobio sits on the western shore of Lago Maggiore where the Cannobino river meets the lake, five kilometers from the Swiss border. Roman sarcophagi from the second and third centuries have been found in town; the first written record dates to 909. In the Middle Ages, Cannobio ran a wool and tanning industry and a lumber trade, and the Mazzarditi pirates briefly held it in 1403 from their islet base off Cannero.

The Santuario della Santissima Pietà rises on the lakefront, built in the sixteenth century on the spot where in 1522 an image of the Virgin was said to have bled and where the town claimed to have been spared from the plague that followed. Every Sunday around 300 stalls line the entire lungolago from the piazza to the Santuario, drawing visitors by boat from Locarno and Ascona on the Swiss side. The Orrido di Sant'Anna, four kilometers inland, is a narrow gorge with a Romanesque church above it.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Cannobio’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

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What to see

Santuario della Santissima Pietà
Sixteenth-century pilgrimage church on the lakefront, built on the site of a 1522 Marian apparition and plague-survival miracle.
Sunday market
Around 300 stalls along the entire lakefront promenade every Sunday from 08:00 to 15:00; one of the largest markets on Lago Maggiore.
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele III
Main lakefront piazza, lined with pastel arcaded houses dating to the medieval and early-modern town.
Orrido di Sant'Anna
Narrow gorge cut by the Cannobino river 4 km inland, with a fifteenth-century Romanesque church of Sant'Anna above.
Palazzo della Ragione
Medieval communal palace also known as Palazzo del Parlamento, the seat of Cannobio's autonomy under the Borromeo.

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Living here

Population 5,003
In-betweeni
Pharmacy in town
Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
Nearest airport Milan, 2 h 21 min drive
Regional capital Torino, 2 h 22 min drive

This is a thermal town — terme operate here.

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 214 m
Population: 5,003
Surface area: 52.53 km²

On the map

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These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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