Arona, Italy is a town of about 15,000 inhabitants on Lake Maggiore, Italy. Its main resource is tourism, especially from Milan, France and Germany.

Surrounding Municipalities

• Oleggio Castello
• Meina
• Comignago
• Dormelletto

Landmarks

Arona is home to the Sancarlone, a statue of Saint Charles Borromeo, which is second only to the Statue of Liberty in size worldwide. Since this statues was finished in 1698, and the Statue of Liberty in 1886, the Sancarlone has been the largest statue in the world for a longer time. Unbeknownst to most tourists, there is also a smaller version, the Sancarlino, in Corso Cavour.

Corso Cavour is a typical shopping area, with many stores and high prices. As this is a charming road and a prime destination for tourists who come only once in their lives, some shops are not of the highest standards, while others do maintain a very good quality level. Ask the locals for the quality of the stores.

One of the best places to go for a quiet afternoon used to be La Rocca ("The rock"), a park owned by the Borromeo family, the same one of St. Charles, who are still a quite well-off family. The park used to be Arona's castle, destroyed by the Napoleonic armies, and was the birthplace of St. Charles himself. The park has always been open to the public for free and is a favourite of many locals because of the stunning view one can enjoy, and children are attracted by the many animals being kept in semi-captivity in various areas.

However, the municipality has some time ago ordered the Borromeo family to make the park conform to security regulations ("626 law"), which of course cannot be enforced in a heritage site (e.g. there are no anti-panic handlebars in Milan's cathedral). The Borromeos' reaction was to shut the gates, since they did not want to pay on their own for extensive intervention on a site they do not get any money from.

Some have noticed that a preminent member of the city council has recently bought a house right beside the entrance of the Rocca, and could have acted in this way to reduce the flow of persons in front of it, thereby increasing personal comfort and property value. The city administration had already tried previously to treat the same house with special care.

Swimming in Lake Maggiore is now possible, after years of pollution and mismanagement, thanks also to the effort of voluntary organizations as Amici del Lago ("The lake's friends"). A beach has been refurbished by this group close to Piazza del Popolo in the city center, called Le rocchette ("The little rocks"). The area is however not guarded and swimming is one's personal responsibility.

The most typical tourist will take a walk on the lungolago, that offers a fine view of Angera 's castle and the Alps. Less sensitive tourists don't walk, but drive through this street, causing nerve-breaking traffic jams on Sunday afternoon; this is typical of milanese one-day tourists going home, and it has caused some friction with the locals, who are unable to drive regularly on "Tourist-rich days".

Arona has also a church build in 1482, the Collegiata della Natività di Maria Vergine, and in its fraction Mercurago there is a natural park where some archeological findings from the bronze age were made, including ancient wheels.

Transport

Arona is very close to Milan's Malpensa International Airport, actually closer than Milan itself. It is also reasonably well connected to the railway network, being one of the main stops between Milan and Switzerland.

Due to the town's size there is no public transport, but some bus companies connect the city to its fractions of Dagnente, Campagna, Mercurago and Montrigiasco.

While there is a motorway exit named after Arona, Castelletto Ticino 's exit is usually more convenient for the traveller coming from Milan's direction, not to mention cheaper.

Twin cities

• Compiègne, France
• Arona, Spain
• Huy, Belgium

External links

• Town Hall of Arona.
• Arona.net, a private portal.
• AronanelWeb, history and events of the city.
• Gli Amici del Lago, charity.
• Coordinates: