Discovering the isles of Lake Iseo

The small village of Sulzano stands on the western cost of lake Iseo. During the Roman age it was crossed by an important way, connecting Brescia to Val Camonica. During the first half of the 20th century, Sulzano was the summer residence of the Craven brothers, relatives of the British Royal Family and owners of most villas in town. This site came to worldwide fame in 2016, when it was chosen by the international artist Christo for his installation, The Floating Piers: a net of footbridges connecting Sulzano to the isles of Monte Isola and San Paolo.

At the end of XV century the isle was purchased by the nuns of Saint Chiara from Brescia, where they set up their nunnery. The building was though dismissed by 1580 when, during the visit of Carlo Borromeo, the presence of a hermit named Pietro is remembered. In 1910 Knight Vincenzo Richieri built a neo-gothic castle on the island. Around it a yew garden was planted, a small port and two small lighthouse towers were built.

The isle, also known as Montisola, is the largest lake island in Italy and in Southern Europe. It was surely inhabited since the Roman age and, later in the 11th century, a Cluny monastery was established here, just alike the nearby isle of San Paolo. Montisola has an ancient tradition of boatbuilding and net weaving, as displayed in the local Museum of Net; the museum hosts a permanent collection of items and documents expecially related to the world of fishing, for a long time the main feature of local economy.

The small isle was the seat of a Cluny monastery from the 11th to the end of 18th century. It was later ruled by the noble Fenaroli family and, during World War I, bought by Beretta family, well known weapon producers of the district. In 2016, the art installation "The Floating Piers" by Christo has connected the Isle to the nearby Monte Isla and to the mainland.