Giuseppe Garibaldi also accomplished feats on Lake Maggiore and he counted upon numerous supporters in the area. In June 1862, he was invited to the villa of the patriot Francesco Simonetta whose elegant residence, in Intra near the mouth of the San Giovanni river, still bears witness to that episode with an epigraph on the façade. Today, the villa no longer welcomes red shirts but blue reflections: indeed, some of its rooms have become the Casa del Lago.

The interactive museum, a project instigated by the Consiglio comunale dei ragazzi (Local Youth Council), aims to tell the story of the lake and its culture by adopting a transversal and multidisciplinary approach. It educates visitors on how to live around the lake, how to get to know its secrets and its potential, to learn the culture of water while rediscovering the roots of the territory and its relationship with Lake Maggiore.

Over the years, the Casa del Lago has become the centre of the Verbano Ecosystem (Ecosistemaverbano), an Interreg Italy-Switzerland project, focusing on didactic-training initiatives that enhance the cultural and environmental heritage linked to trades, such as fishing, in the collective memory and the traditions.

The museum offers guided tours and educational scientific, artistic, technological and cultural workshops. Activities - structured by age groups and by categories of speakers - are aimed at all schools, tourists and local residents on the lake.

In addition to two multimedia rooms, two exhibition halls and a documentation centre, the museum also has two modern well-equipped chemistry and biology laboratories used for carrying out direct environmental sampling which is then analysed (together with the visitors and school groups).

Visits to the Museum and educational workshops are available on request.