Vogogna
Member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia
When a flood destroyed Pietrasanta in 1328, this village in the middle of the Val d'Ossola became the seat of government for Lower Ossola, a role it kept until 1819. The Visconti gave it a castle and an arcaded Palazzo Pretorio in the 14th century, and trade along the old Simplon road kept it prosperous under the Sforza. Part of its land lies in the Val Grande National Park.
Highlights
- The Visconti castle, used as a prison from 1798 and reopened in 1998
- Palazzo Pretorio, a Lombard-style broletto on pointed arches
- A carved Celtic mask in soapstone, once part of a fountain
- Ruins of the 9th–10th-century rocca just above the castle
- Trails into the Val Grande National Park, whose headquarters is here
Text adapted from Wikipedia (Vogogna (IT), Vogogna (EN)), Wikivoyage (Vogogna). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Population: 1,680
Events through the year
- Befana festival
- Carnevale vogognese
- Living Way of the CrossStaged re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross
- Halloween night
- Living nativity scene
Dates follow the traditional patterns in our sources: check locally before you travel.
Adapted from Wikivoyage (Vogogna). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Local food & wine
- Gnocchi all'ossolanaBread and pastaGnocchi of chestnut flour, pumpkin and potato, with butter and local cheese
Adapted from Wikivoyage (Vogogna). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to sleep
2 places to stay within 3 km
- Hotels 1
- Hostels 1
Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Thermal baths nearby
- Hot spring: Bagni di Craveggia · ~1 h 28 by car
Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Nearby member villages
- Orta San Giulio · 25 km
- Maccagno Imperiale · 34 km
- Rassa · 34 km
- Rosazza · 44 km
- Fontainemore · 52 km