What is Ghiffa known for?

UNESCO Sanctuary of the Holy Trinity above the lake, completed 1617, one of the nine Sacri Monti in the World Heritage list. Hat factory opened 1879 by Giovanni Panizza, exporting felt hats globally for a century from the lakefront. Western shore of the lake between Verbania and Cannobio, with ferry connections to both shores and the Lombard side.

Ghiffa is a comune in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Piedmont region of Italy, about 81 kilometers from Novara.

Piedmont · Verbano-Cusio-Ossola

Ghiffa

A Lake Maggiore lakeside village whose Sacro Monte della SS. Trinità above town belongs to the UNESCO nine Sacri Monti of Piemonte and Lombardia.

81 km / 50 mi

Nearest hub (Novara)

2,257

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

UNESCO

Why come

Ghiffa runs along the west shore of Lake Maggiore between Verbania and Cannobio, the strip of lakefrontfacing the Lombard side of the lake. Above the villageon the slope of Monte Carciago, stands the Sacro Monte della SS. Trinità, one of the nine Sacri Monti of Piemonte and Lombardia inscribed by UNESCO in 2003. The complex was built between the late sixteenth century and 1617 around an older medieval chapel, with three chapels and the arcades of the Stations of the Cross set in two hundred hectares of beech and chestnut nature reserve. From 1879 the Panizza hat factory turned Ghiffa into one of Europe's hat-making centers; the Borsalino style was made and exported from this lakefront. The factory closed and the Museo dell'Arte del Cappello opened on the waterfront, holding the molds, the stamps, and the records of the trade that employed most of the village for a century.

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Gallery

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Known for

Sacro Monte della SS. Trinità
UNESCO devotional complex above the lake, Sanctuary plus three chapels and porticoed Stations of the Cross in a 200-hectare reserve.
Museo dell'Arte del Cappello
Lakefront museum in the former Panizza factory, holding molds, stamps, and records from a century of Ghiffa hat-making.
Riserva Naturale del Sacro Monte
Two hundred hectares of beech and chestnut woods around the sanctuary, with marked trails to Cappella del Porale at 470 meters.
Lungolago di Ghiffa
Lakefront walk along the Maggiore, with views across to the Lombard shore and ferry stops to Verbania and Cannobio.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the lake season. May and June bring the wisteria along the lakefront and clear days on the Sacro Monte. September and October are dry, with the sanctuary's chestnut woods turning and the ferry schedule still running. July and August are hot and busy; the lakefront fills with day-trippers from Verbania and the train to Stresa. The Sacro Monte stays cooler at 360 meters, which is where locals walk up in the afternoon. November through March is quiet. The hat museum stays open by appointment and the sanctuary holds Sunday mass, but most lakefront restaurants close.