Ispra www.comune.ispra.va.it

Even if the boats of the Navigazione Lago Maggiore stop here and even if there is a fine lakeside promenade, the town centre is situated in the surrounding meadows to testify that the ancient inhabitants were farmers.

The steep and rocky peaks of the hills going down to the lake are marked by the traces of antique lime kilns.

As well as other villages on the lake, in the XVIII century many villas hidden by luxuriant gardens have been built, such as Villa Ranci Ortigosa, Villa Maria Giuseppina, Villa Cadorna.

In the early 1960, Ispra becames the seat of Euratom, the EC Research Centre for the atomic energy, now Joint Research Centre (JCR).

At Barza, a medieval tower of an old small fortress bought in 1906 and changed in his house by the tenor Pietro Mongini has a characteristic clock with dials for all the time zones.