Verbania, Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Piedmont, Italy

🇮🇹 Verbania is the most populous comune and the capital city of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy. It is situated on the shore of Lake Maggiore, about 91 km (57 mi) north-west of Milan and about 40 km (25 mi) from 🇨🇭 Locarno in Switzerland.

History The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The oldest known people living in the area were the Lepontii. The area was added to the Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus in the first century AD.

In the eleventh century the area was controlled by the bishops of Novara, then by the counts of Pombia. In 1152 Federico Barbarossa gave the area to the Castello family. After the death of Frederick Barbarossa, the territory was again controlled by Novara. By the fourteenth century, the area had become part of the Duchy of Milan. In 1714, following the Treaty of Rastatt most of the lake areas came under the control of the Habsburgs. After the 1796 Napoleonic invasion the area was controlled by the French. By 1818 the House of Savoy had gained control of the area back from the French. With the edict of 10 October 1836, Pallanza and Ossola became part of the province of Novara.

After the Second World War, the territory still remained part of the province of Novara. In 1976 the autonomous district of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola was established.

Overview It faces the city of Stresa lying at a direct distance of 3.7 km (2 mi) across Lake Maggiore, and 16 km (10 mi) by road. The present-day Verbania was created by the 1939 merger of the cities of Intra and Pallanza under royal decree 702. Since 1992 it has been the capital of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. A small islet lying a stone's throw from the shores of the Pallanza frazione and separated from it by a narrow stretch of water just 10 or 15 metres wide, known as the Isolino di San Giovanni, is famous for having been the home of Arturo Toscanini between the years of 1927 and 1952.

Verbania consists of the following localities: Antoliva, Bieno, Biganzolo, Cavandone, Fondotoce, Intra, Pallanza, Possaccio, Suna, Torchiedo, Trobaso and Zoverallo.

Tourist Industry Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto is an estate with fine botanical gardens.

Transport Verbania-Pallanza railway station, opened in 1905, forms part of the Milan–Domodossola railway. It is in the Fondotoce district, between Lake Mergozzo and the river Toce, just upstream from where the Toce flows into Lake Maggiore. A bus connects Verbania to the rail station in Fondotoce.