Mergozzo is a village awarded the Touring Club Italiano Orange Flag, nestled on the western tip of the lake of the same name, one of the clearest in Italy.
Five thousand years of history
Prehistoric remains identified on the surrounding heights show that people inhabited this area at least 5,000 years ago. Thanks to its position on the route between the plain and the Alps, Mergozzo held decisive importance as early as Roman times. The village’s history has always been linked to stone: from the white and green granite of Montorfano to the pink marble of Candoglia, both quarried in the surrounding area.
Two districts, two sides of the village
The village is divided into two distinctive districts: Riva, with its stone houses arranged like an amphitheatre on the lake, and Sasso, built on the slopes of Montorfano and dominated by the remains of an ancient castle. This dual character, between lake and mountain, is one of Mergozzo’s distinguishing features.
Italy’s cleanest lake
Lake Mergozzo is considered one of Italy’s clearest lakes, separate from Lake Maggiore but once part of the same basin: its crystal-clear waters make it an ideal destination for swimming and canoeing, away from the busiest tourist flows.
Mergozzo in the Ossola area
Mergozzo is close to Gravellona Toce, a crossroads between Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta. To learn more about the village’s history, refer to the Municipality of Mergozzo.
From Mergozzo, you can also easily reach the vineyards of the Val d’Ossola, with the opportunity for a tasting between one dip in the lake and the next.
Riva and Sasso, the lake’s two districts
Walking between Mergozzo’s two historic districts allows you to appreciate two different sides of the same village: in Riva, stone houses in direct contact with the water prevail, once homes to fishermen and boatmen, while in Sasso, perched on the slopes of Montorfano, the atmosphere becomes more intimate, among narrow lanes that climb towards the remains of the ancient castle.
A lake separated from Maggiore
Lake Mergozzo, once part of the same basin as Lake Maggiore, naturally separated from it over the millennia due to the alluvial deposits of the River Toce: a geological phenomenon that has given the area two distinct bodies of water, each with its own characteristics, just a few minutes from one another.
Once part of Lake Maggiore
Lake Mergozzo, the fourth largest among Piedmont’s lakes, was once the western end of Lake Maggiore, known as Sinus Mergotianus: over the centuries, the River Toce’s continual floods created a barrier of deposits, today’s Fondotoce plain, which permanently separated the two basins. The surrounding area preserves traces of very ancient settlements, documented by the rich collection of the local Antiquarium, which displays prehistoric and Bronze Age artefacts alongside the ancient tools used to quarry and work Montorfano granite and Candoglia marble.
One of Italy’s cleanest lakes
Thanks to the absence of industry on its shores, the ban on motorised boats and a sewerage system that does not discharge into the basin but directly into the River Toce, the waters of Lake Mergozzo are among the cleanest in Italy, making it a much-loved destination for canoeists, kayakers, windsurfers and recreational anglers, as well as tourists, particularly Germans, looking for a lake unlike the larger, more crowded basins.
One final detail not to be missed: the village’s small marina, an ideal starting point for anyone wishing to hire a canoe and discover the lake from the water, perhaps at dawn, when the surface is perfectly still and the silence almost total.
A little paradise, close to everything.
A discreet gem, waiting to be experienced.
Clear water, ancient history, sustainable future.
