The treasure of San Giulio Island
A Lake Orta Wedding is the perfect choice for a sophisticated wedding in Italy. Set like an emerald jewel, it is surrounded by gently rolling wooded hills. Lake Orta, once compared by Balzac to grey pearl set among the mountains and extolled by other poets, is the finest interpretation of the term earthly paradise.
Its mystical island, Isola San Giulio, is set in the centre of the lake. 275 metres long and 140 metres wide, this small pocket of surfaced land has a perimeter of only 650 metres. It emerges about 400 metres from the shore and is mostly taken over by seminary begun in 1844 on the remains of the old castle tower. Now its home to an order of Benedictine monks whose spiritualism lends to the air of mysticism in a place which is naturally surrounded by silence.
Rich with historical monuments, villas and memorials, the island of San Giulio allow us to enjoy the spiritual atmosphere that characterizes its history. By walking along the path of silence or entering the prestigious Basilica of San Giulio, which houses valuable works of painting and sculpture such as 12th century ambo, we seem to relive the legend that it embodies. The ambo is sculpted from grey-green serpentine stone from the nearby quarries of Oira, a unique stone in that its oily brilliance changes color on contact with air and turns bronze.
An ancient legend relates that it was infested with dragons and serpents, so no one dared approach it until Julius, a holy traveler who had fled from Christian persecutions in fourth-century Greece, laid his cloak on the water, walked over it and reached the island without getting wet. Julius vanquished the serpents and chose to stay on the island. In 390 he then went on to build a church. New churches were erected in the ninth century and the eleventh century, which even today are still dedicated to the saint.
The St. Julius Island now seems as if it is bathed in mysticism. A perfect setting for a romantic wedding photographic service. Your Lake Orta Wedding will have the same atmosphere as in the ancient times and you will live and relive it as in a fairytale.
4 responses so far
[...] near Arona on Lake Maggiore, but also very close to the romantic atmosphere of Lake Orta and St. Julius Island. The enchanting panorama on Lake Maggiore and the architecture of the castle make of Dal Pozzo [...]
[...] Luisa and Massimiliano take a beautiful white motorboat that from Villa Bossi will take them to St Julius Island on of the most outstanding places of Lake Orta take some everlasting pictures thanks to Ivana [...]
[...] had welcome drinks for our guests on one of the terraces of the hotel overlooking the lake and the Isola San Giulio. Just [...]
[...] its main entrance the view is stunning, it embraces old Orta San Giulio village, precious San Giulio Island and Alps crown. If you will decide to get married here, all your guests will be just [...]