What is Monte Isola known for?

Private cars are banned on the island; mopeds, bicycles and feet handle everything from grocery runs to school commutes. Hand-woven fishing nets, still made by a few families on the island, supplied the freshwater lakes of northern Italy for centuries. Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 2016 orange walkway from Sulzano to the island drew 1.2 million visitors in sixteen days.

Where is Monte Isola?

Monte Isola is a comune in the province of Brescia, Lombardy region of Italy, about 34 kilometers from Brescia.

Lombardy · Brescia

Monte Isola

The largest lake island in southern and central Europe, 4.5 square kilometers in Lake Iseo, with no cars and eleven fishing villages on its shore.

600m

Elevation

34 km / 21 mi

Nearest hub (Brescia)

1,620

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Monte Isola covers 4.5 square kilometers in the middle of Lake Iseo, the largest lake island in southern and central Europe. Eleven villages and hamlets line the shore and climb the slopes: Peschiera Maraglio and Sensole on the south, Siviano on the north, with smaller settlements between. The Madonna della Ceriola sanctuary stands at 600 meters at the summit, documented in 1410 but built older, holding a twelfth-century wooden sculpture of the Virgin and Child. No private cars are allowed on the island; mopeds, bicycles and feet are the way around. The Comune still keeps the small island of San Paolo and the privately owned Loreto as part of its territory. Fishing nets are still woven here by hand for use across the lakes of northern Italy, and wooden boats are still built by a handful of craftsmen in Peschiera Maraglio. In summer 2016, Christo and Jeanne-Claude floated their orange piers from Sulzano to the island, drawing 1.2 million visitors in sixteen days.

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Gallery

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Known for

Santuario della Madonna della Ceriola
Pilgrimage church at the summit, 600 meters above the lake, holding a twelfth-century wooden Virgin and Child and reached only on foot from Cure.
Peschiera Maraglio
Main lake-side village on the south of the island, with the ferry landing, the boatyards and the long stone lakefront facing San Paolo.
Siviano
Capital of the comune on the north of the island, a fortified medieval hamlet with tower houses, narrow streets and the parish church.
Sensole
Lakeside hamlet on the south, the most photographed stretch of shore on the island, looking across to the private island of San Paolo.
Giro dell'isola
Nine-kilometer perimeter route around the island, walked or cycled, with no car traffic and views of the Iseo and Sebino shore.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the season Monte Isola is built for. May, June, September and early October are the best months: ferries run on schedule, the perimeter road is open to bikes, the Ceriola climb is dry. July and August bring weekend day-trippers from Brescia, Bergamo and Milano, especially Sundays; the ferries fill and Peschiera Maraglio is at capacity by mid-morning. November through March is quiet. Many trattorie close. The Sebino fog can sit on the lake for days, and the climb to Ceriola gives up its summit only to walkers willing to push above the cloud. The Festa di Santa Croce, every fifth year in September, decorates Carzano with paper flowers.