Castelli di Cannero: what to see, prices and how to get there
They had been there for centuries, perched on two tiny islets off the northern bank of Lake Maggiore – Piedmontese side – and in visible state of abandonment. Two fans and romantic appearances, to be contemplated along the road directed towards the Swiss border, with the ancient stone walls embraced by the vegetation that emerged as a mirage on the surface of the water on the haze days.
This until yesterday, because from 28 June i Castles of Cannero – In reality, the castle is only one, flanked by a tower on the smallest islet – they will open the public for the first time.
They will reach by boat from the Borgo di Cannero, from Luino, from Cannobio and the entrance, only by reservation, will be part of the circuit of experiences of Terre Borromeotogether with Borromee Islandsthe Rocca di AngeraThe Mottarone Park and the Pallavicino park to Stresa.
The restoration of the Castles of Cannero
Wanted by the Borromeo family, edited by Studio Simonetti Architecture of Turin and from Dotdotdot design study For the museum and narrative part, the conservative restoration has not added and has not removed anything to the charm of the place, suspended between ruin and romance.
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If anything, he enhanced, respecting the historical identity and avoiding any form of reconstruction in order not to replicate unnecessarily what has been destroyed over time. « The goal was to attribute a correct meaning to the different entities of ruin, in a logic of conservation and respect, through transformations compatible with the authenticity of the work avoiding deformations of visual and formal perception, » said architects.
It cost 15 million euros, the conservative restoration and the museum setting have created a museum that tells themselves, thanks to an audibuid location-based to download before arrival.
To better live the experience, the Simonetti Architecture studio has created a trail course made of stairways, balconies, open -air catwalks. “The new architectural elements evoke the temporary wooden structures of the sieges.
Red on existing structures, they have larch wood finishes exposed to the atmospheric agents that will take on a gray shade similar to the stone material of the fortress « . In order not to visually impact on the monument.
Castelli di Cannero: an open -air museum
Erected 500 years ago from the Borromeo defended by the incursions from Switzerland, the stone fortress has thus become a place with a high experiential content: a museum of itself, where the path of visit begins with the landing on the boat and then continues with a game of stairs and catwalks (« in larch wood and therefore light, thin and non -invasive », the designers continue) through what resisted the degradation of the time: Ronda, the courts, the towers, the surviving rooms.
To lead the journey, instead of the illustrative panels, an audio guide to download was created before the arrival: « Cannero Walking Tales »explains Laura Dellamottaco-founder of Dotdotdot, « is an immersive experiential path, with a narrative but not didactic character. A philological storytelling, respectful of history but also capable of evoking human events, anecdotes and curiosities, to make reconstruction accessible, inclusive and engaging for a large audience ».
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The narrative is entrusted directly to the ruins, as a sort of narrative voice – or an audiobook – which is revealed step by step, telling in real time stories and anecdotes of the different corners of the castle.
Thanks to a system of beaconaudio content are activated automatically during the walk, while in the Vitalian court and in the Weapon room The insights are entrusted to augmented reality, with two -tone illustrations animated on the stone walls of the fortress.
The path of visit to the Castles of Cannero
In the fortress, therefore, you walk, listen, you project yourself into the life and history of the place. Augmented installations and reality accompany visitors from Court of entry at the Vitalian courtand then from there to Guard roomto the walkway, to the Weapon roomup to Mastiothe Torre del Belvederethe Malpaga court.
From the top of the towers and along the walkways of Ronda, the visual experience enhances the panorama of the lake with the nearby islet, which cannot be visited, which once housed the prisons.
Then we immerse ourselves again in experiential storytelling, between animated videos that illustrate the construction and forfeiture phases of the castles, before moving on to the heraldic symbols of the Borromeo in the Countless roomthe only one to keep poetic fragments of decorations.
Finally, the multi -projects on the walls of the Mastio recall three epic episodes: the siege of the Sforza in 1523, the daily life of the soldiers, the transformation of the fortress, in 1645, into a clandestine mint.
Heraldry Game, the thematic path for children
« With this important restoration work, the Castles of Cannero return to be a living place, open to the community more than five hundred years after the settlement by Ludovico Borromeo, » said the prince Vitaliano Borromeo.
A place where history and multimedia merge into a new form of experience, museum and sentimental, suitable for an adult audience as well as children.
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For the little ones, a second audio guide was designed, Heraldry Gamewith interactive games, invasions of pirates and suggestive treasure hunts.
Castles of Cannero: info, tickets and prices
Tickets can be purchased directly from the site TerreBorromeo.it/ticket or at the ticket offices of the museum sites of Terre Borromeo and at the‘Infopoint in Stresa. The entrance is only by reservation.
The cost of the entrance is € 25 for adults and also includes the boat tour from Cannero and the audio guide of the museum route.
How to get to the Castles of Cannero
Built on two islets 300 meters from the shore, the Fortress of Cannero can be reached by boat from the village of Cannero (but also from Cannobio and Luino). The emotion of the landing is an important part of the visiting experience: it allows you to admire the main bastion and the ruins on the rock covered with vegetation, not open to open from the water, which once housed the prisons. The transfer by boat can be purchased directly in the package which includes the visit and the audio guide.
The history of the Castles of Cannero
The history of the Castles of Cannero dates back to the fifteenth century, when a fortification used by the powerful arose on the major islet Family of the Mazzarditi di Cannobio For war purposes.
With the arrival of Borromeo on Lake Maggiorea vast process of territorial expansion begins: a compact domain from Cannobio to Intra, Omegna, Vogogna, Angera And other territories, which in 1519 led to the transformation of the Rocca into a more complex defensive system in defense of the territory.
In more recent times, in 1848 Garibaldi He took refuge at the Castles of Cannero during the escape after the Battle of Luino. And thirty years later the Queen Vittoria He was fascinated by their romantic image.
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After decades of abandonment, ten years ago Vitaliano XI Borromeo It gives shape to an imposing recovery project approved by the Superintendency, with the aim of safeguarding the ruins in their authenticity.
Discover the secrets of the Castles of Cannero in the gallery
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