Lake Orta Weddings

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.

Written by Valentina Lombardi & Mauro De Luca

For further information about weddings on St.Julius Island please contact Italian Lakes Wedding Staff.