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.
Known for
NO CARS
Private cars are banned on the island; mopeds, bicycles and feet handle everything from grocery runs to school commutes.
FISHING NETS
Hand-woven fishing nets, still made by a few families on the island, supplied the freshwater lakes of northern Italy for centuries.
FLOATING PIERS
Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 2016 orange walkway from Sulzano to the island drew 1.2 million visitors in sixteen days.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
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.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Monte Isola’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 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.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Monte Isola fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Living here
- Population 1,620
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Milan, 1 h 4 min drive
- Regional capital Milano, 1 h 41 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 600 m
- Population: 1,620
- Surface area: 12.8 km²
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.
Close by
More towns near Monte Isola
Iseo
Province: Brescia
The main town on the southeast shore of Lake Iseo, gateway to Monte Isola and the Franciacorta sparkling wine country.
Sarnico
Province: Bergamo
A medieval lake town at the southern tip of Lago d'Iseo, where the Oglio leaves the lake and Liberty villas line the shore.
Darfo Boario Terme
Province: Brescia
At the mouth of the Valle Camonica, an Art Nouveau spa town next to one of the first UNESCO rock-engraving sites in Italy.
Predore
Province: Bergamo
A small lakeside village on the Bergamo shore of Lake Iseo, sitting on a 15,000-square-meter Roman villa with intact thermal baths underneath.
Lovere
Province: Bergamo
An amphitheater town at the north end of Lake Iseo, in Borghi più belli since 2003, with Canova plasters inside the Accademia Tadini.
🎨 Borghi più belli d'Italia
More Borghi più belli d'Italia towns in Lombardy
Bagolino
Province: Brescia
A mountain village at 778 meters in the Valle del Caffaro, with a three-day February carnival of masked dancers and violins.
Bellano
Province: Lecco
An eastern Lake Como town where the Pioverna cut a gorge through fifteen million years of rock before reaching the lake.
Bienno
Province: Brescia
A medieval ironworking village in the Val Camonica, where water hammers driven by the Grigna stream have shaped wrought iron since the 1200s.
Cassinetta di Lugagnano
Province: Milano
A Naviglio Grande commune west of Milan with fifteen ville di delizia and Italy's first zero-growth urban plan, adopted in 2007.
Castellaro Lagusello
Province: Mantova
A walled medieval borgo south of Lake Garda, ringed by 13th-century stone walls and overlooking a small heart-shaped natural lake that gives the village its second name and most-photographed silhouette.