Italian Lakes Wedding Blog - Destination Weddings Italy

Elegant, charming, ancient, Stresa is the pearl of Lake Maggiore, one of the most wanted destinations wedding in Piemonte. It has been a favorite destination with the British, even Queen Victoria stayed on the shores of Lake Maggiore.

Stresa is located on Lake Maggiore in northeastern Piedmont which borders Lombardy and Switzerland. It is a renowned tourist resort in a picturesque setting facing the equally famous Borromeo Islands.

In order to see Stresa well, it’s important to explore the many alley ways and small cobblestone lanes that make up the town. Not a shopper by nature, Stresa was an invitation to buy! Lovely little pottery shops are found around every corner, and the shopkeepers are more than happy to ship your items home. Also, shops with jewelry, tempting Italian foodstuffs, and cute little bars and trattoria are everywhere.

The lakeside promenades are lined with magnolias, camellias and verbena and many other flowers and Mediterranean trees.
Embarcadero is probably the most crowded place in town. From here you can take the boats for an excursion on the Lake visiting Borromean Islands and their lush gardens and palaces owned by Borromeo Family.

In the 1850s Stresa was one of the most sought-after vacation spots in all of Italy. The rich and famous from all over the world spent their leisure time enjoying the beauty, serenity and romance of Stresa. Consequently dozens of fabulously expensive and ornate Villas were constructed overlooking the lake. Today those same Villas of the world’s richest people are available for your wedding and for your wedding reception. Continue Reading »

Isola Madre is the largest of the Borromeo islands and the most characteristic one, with its atmosphere of silence, meditation and enchantment. Flaubert, in 1845, wrote that ‘Isola Madre is the most sensual place that I have ever seen in the world’.

The Borromeo Islands are a group of three small islands and two islets in the Italian part of Lake Maggiore, located in the western arm of the lake, between Verbania and Baveno to the north and Stresa to the south. Stresa is Lake’s Maggiore’s main resort since 19th century, with many luxury hotels, villas and easy access to the Borromeo Islands.

In 1501 Lancillotto Borromeo, one of the five children of Giovanni III Borromeo and Cleofe Pio di Carpi, introduced the cultivation of citrus fruit to the island, the plants being brought from Liguria. It is known for certain that olives were cultivated here; the produce may have been employed for sacred purposes. In 1501 Lancillotto began the construction of the family residence on the island, which in the 1580s was extended in the renaissance style by Renato I Borromeo. The Palazzo Borromeo was built on the remains of the early church, cemetery and perhaps castle of San Vittore. In 1978 the 16th century palace was opened to the public. The visit is interesting for the reconstruction of the antique interior decoration and for the liveries, dolls and ceramics collection. Exceptional exposition of “Puppet Theaters” from the 18th and 19th Centuries. Continue Reading »

If you would like to celebrate your civil wedding in Italy right into an old fashion atmosphere, in a Tudor style castle surrounded by a huge park with stunning view on the lake, Dal Pozzo Castle is the right choice.

Dal Pozzo Castle is in Oleggio Castello, a small village in the countryside 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 castle a peculiar place for fine and elegant weddings. With its wide rooms, galleries, original furniture in Tudor style and the huge park the Castle is a real pearl.

The civil bending could be officiated in the historical library of the family, in an evocative ambience. It is a wonderful room furnished with antiques of 1800, manuscripts and pictures of 6 generations owners Dal Pozzo dynasty. The real masterpiece are the wooden baroque ceilings, every single piece presents a precious floral painting one different from the each other.
The civil bending is celebrated by the mayor of Oleggio Castello and could be held every day of the year. View more images about Dal Pozzo Castle.

Once the celebration ends the receptions starts in the five beautiful rooms of the castle or on the terrace overlooking the Lake.
In the silence and confidentiality of the fine venue, your guests could appreciate every single internal and external area. You will have on your disposal 15000 squared meters of park for your welcome cocktail, the Red Room for dances and music, the terrace for a dinner under the stars, the main room for the wedding toast…. many and different are the solutions that could characterize your civil wedding at Dal Pozzo Castle. Continue Reading »

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.

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In the last years, especially in Northern Italy, there are many more civil weddings than in past times. In such town as Verbania, Como, Verona, Orta San Giulio and Stresa, civil bendings are more than religious ones.

Among the reasons that determined this new trend there: second weddings, that can be celebrated only at the town hall, the open-mindedness and swiftness of this kind of bending and also the increasing number of Destination Weddings.

Many think that civil weddings are less expensive and less formal than one celebrated in the church. But for sure it is not less important!
It is definitely a very important a sacred celebration equivalent to swear in a court. In fact Italian Law wants two witnesses present to the ceremony to be a guaranty, with their sign, of the absolute legitimacy of the bending that will bond between bride and groom.

In effect, civil ceremony is a celebration that has to be done in perfect agreement with Italian Laws instead of religious ones.
Civil bendings can be celebrated by mayors, or delegates and has to be done in authorized venues such as Town Halls, but also Villas, Castles, Hotels or even Garden, but all those places have to be authorized.

Your civil bending could be enriched by the beauty of many Town Halls, unforgettable villages, sinuous hills and hospitality of the ones who host bridegrooms for the celebration at the Town Hall.
For the couples that wish to celebrate their wedding on Lake Orta or Lake Maggiore, civil bending is available in almost every town: Stresa, Orta San Giulio, Verbania, Arona, Oleggio Castello, Baveno, Cannero Riviera, Laveno, Luino, Angera and Mergozzo. For a real fairy tale wedding the most wanted venues are Villa Bossi, Castello Dal Pozzo and Villa San Remigio.

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Italian Lakes district offers to couples a wide range of exclusive venues to realize their wedding. There are villas, castles and ancient residences. Palazzo Penotti Ubertini represents one of the most wanted venues, a unique example in terms of position, style and accessibility.

• Good position
  Palazzo Penotti Ubertini is right into medieval village of Orta San Giulio, in its little paved roads and ancient houses with big doors, loggias and beautiful iron artworks.
  During centuries this little village on Orta lakeshore was the main center of St Julius Riviera. Nowadays it is a famous touristy location.
  Palazzo Penotti Ubertini is on “Salita Della Motta”, one of the most charming and renewed spots of Orta San Giulio. On this road you will find the most important noble houses of XV- XVII centuries: Villa Giani, Villa Margaroni (so called Casa degli Gnomi) with lot of frescos, the huge Palazzo Gemelli and at the top the hill the delicious baroque façade of Santa Maria Assunta church, parish church of Orta San Giulio.
  Thanks to its neighborhood with one of the most beautiful church of Lake District Palazzo Penotti Ubertini is the perfect venue for a wedding.
  If you are thinking of having a catholic celebration this palace represent the ideal choose for you and your guests.
  This way you will avoid uncomfortable transfers from the church to the reception venue.

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