A new museum opens on Lake Maggiore: from June 28, 2025, the Castles of Cannero, historic fortifications that once belonged to the Borromeo family, will in fact be open to visitors for the first time. The opening is the result of an impressive conservative restoration and enhancement project that lasted more than ten years and returns to the public a place of the highest historical, architectural and landscape value.
Situated on two rocky islets off the north coast of the Piedmont side of the lake, the medieval complexes-which include the main fortress and the prison building-come back to life transformed into a “museum of themselves.” The restoration project, overseen by Studio Simonetti Architettura of Turin, was based on the principle of respecting the ruin, excluding any kind of reconstruction that could compromise the original integrity and authenticity of the site. The intent was to maintain and transmit the material and symbolic identity of the fortress, integrating it into the present without distorting its historical value.
Launched in 2011 at the initiative of the Borromeo family, the recovery plan required substantial investment and anextensive survey campaign. The intervention had a total cost of about 15 million euros, made possible thanks to the contribution of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (through the Soprintendenza Archeologica Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Biella, Novara, Vercelli and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola) and the support of Intesa Sanpaolo.
After decades of neglect and inaccessibility, the Castles of Cannero became a museum where visitors have the opportunity to retrace the wartime, political and architectural events that marked the history of the fortress over more than five centuries through technological tools. Extensive archival research, archaeological investigations lasting nearly four years and in-depth studies of the architectural structures have made it possible to reconstruct in detail the birth and subsequent transformations of the complex up to its current rebirth. The precariousness and delicacy of the buildings also necessitated meticulous consolidation and securing work, which was essential to guarantee public access in total safety.
The tour route, developed almost entirely outside, provides access to the spaces of the fortress by recovering most of the patrol paths. Some interior rooms host museological insights into the history of the fortress, the territory and its protagonists. The new facilities, which include bookshops and services, evoke the temporary wooden structures of the sieges, designed as demountable elements resting on the existing structures, with larch wood finishes that harmonize with the stone material of the fortress. The visitor experience begins by reaching the Castles by boat from the mainland. Inside, the architecture itself is transformed into storytelling. Making the experience even more immersive is the exhibition and narrative project signed by Dotdotdot (Milan) entitled Cannero Walking Tales, which transforms the visit into an immersive narrative thanks to a location-based audio guide, multimedia installations, augmented reality and interactive games.
There are three main physical touchpoints on the route: the first magic mirror (Corte Vitaliana), in which animated videos illustrate in a loop the phases of construction and decay of the Castelli; multiprojections in the Mastio, on two levels, narrate three significant episodes of the Castelli, namely the 1523 siege by the Sforza family, the daily life of the soldiers in 1550 through a letter from Antonio Locadello to Corona Borromeo, and the transformation of the Castelli into an underground mint in 1645 with Bartolomeo Guizzetti; the second magic mirror (Hall of the Countess), which tells the story of the Borromeo heraldic symbols, starting from the illustrated elements of the only decorated room of the fortress, up to the appearance of the coat of arms and its emblems, namely the camel (Rocca di Angera), the unicorn (Isola Bella), the cedar (Isola Madre) and the horse’s bit (Castelli di Cannero). In the Corte Vitaliana and the Hall of Arms, augmented reality enables in-depth content that appears as animated two-color illustrations superimposed on the ruins. These are not philological reconstructions, but poetic evocations, designed to respect the spirit of the restoration and stimulate the visitor’s imagination, again as while listening to an audio book.
The audio guide also includes a section aimed at younger children: Heraldry Game - the herald game. In peacetime, the Castles have lost their heraldry, broken down and hidden by an old castellan to protect its power. Pirates are coming, and only by reassembling the coat of arms will it be possible to save the lake. This is an interactive treasure hunt based on the same beacon system: children must search for the coat of arms tiles - 3D printed and cast in ceramic by Dotdotdot - following a rhyming rhyme that provides poetic clues and playful quizzes.
The Castles of Cannero thus add to the cultural offerings of the Terre Borromeo circuit, which already includes Isola Bella, Isola Madre, Rocca di Angera, Pallavicino Park and Mottarone Park.
“With this important restoration work, the Castles of Cannero are once again a living place, open to the community,” said Vitaliano Borromeo, SAG president. “More than five hundred years after it was settled by Ludovico Borromeo, the fortress will be able to be enjoyed by visitors, enriching the cultural landscape of the Lake Maggiore area and flanking the other Terre Borromeo destinations.”
“Today is a special day because we open the doors of an extraordinary place where history lives again, closely intertwining with the views of the lake and enhancing its charm. The result is a museum that is unique because of the type of intervention and restoration carried out,” said Marina Borromeo, Terre Borromeo’s Special Projects Manager. “The Castles of Cannero complete our cultural proposals in an organic and coherent whole, the result of a process developed over the years in the Terre Borromeo sites.”
"Cannero Walking Tales," explains Laura Dellamotta, co-founder of Dotdotdot, “is an immersive experiential path, with a narrative but not didactic character. It stems from a multi-year research on the potential of technology to integrate, in a light, subtle and non-invasive way, narrative content within exhibition spaces and territories. A philological storytelling, respectful of History, but also able to evoke human events, anecdotes and curiosities, to make historical reconstruction accessible, inclusive and engaging for a wide audience.” “Walking Tales respects the expressive power of the ruins,” Dellamotta continues. “Just as the restoration curated by architect Salvatore Simonetti, interpreting the wishes of the Borromeo family, chose not to alter the nature of the Castles of Cannero, the technological intervention is also discreet: designed to enhance the memory of the place without overpowering it, integrating poetically with what already exists.”
To visit the Castles of Cannero, tickets are available at https://terreborromeo.it/ticket or at Terre Borromeo museum site ticket offices and at the infopoint located in Stresa. Adult admission is 25 euros, including the boat tour from Cannero and the museum tour audio guide.
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| On Lake Maggiore, the Castles of Cannero open to the public for the first time. They house an interactive museum |
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