Isola Superiore, or ‘dei Pescatori’, does not have Isola Madre’s luxuriant park or the sumptuous palazzo with spectacular gardens of Isola Bella, but it does have the charm of a timeless place.

From the coastline it looks like a village that is suspended in time, with the bell tower jutting above the cluster of densely packed houses, attached together to exploit every surface centimetre on the strip of land that rises from the waters of the Borromeo Gulf.

On the banks, the pier, the small port and the slipways filled with boats,

the fishing spears and nets that hang in the sun to dry evoke the history of generations of island inhabitants. Isola dei Pescatori has little more than two dozen residents throughout the year; it also houses a cooperative of professional fishermen, one of the last remaining on Lake Maggiore.

It has the charm of a Piccolo Mondo Antico (Small Ancient World) and it is no coincidence that it featured in the final scenes of the eponymous 1941 film by Italian director Mario Soldati.

Its unique atmosphere, eluding time and space, has also appeared in some scenes from La Corrispondenza (2016) by Giuseppe Tornatore, and has attracted famous writers such as George Simenon, who wrote his novel Corte d'Assise here in 1937, and Marguerite Yourcenar who chose to reside on the tiny island to recuperate in the relaxed and creative atmosphere: the hypnotic sound of the Verbano waves, the narrow alleyways, the raised doorsteps, the long balconies used for drying fish.

The Church of San Vittore was built on a previous Romanesque chapel whose apse is now the baptistery of the building which, in the following centuries, took on its current form, until it was consecrated to San Vittore in the seventeenth century.

Of particular interest is the nearby cemetery which conserves the remains of the islanders with tombstones that evoke the world of fishing, plus the tombs of two artists, the violinist, Ugo Ara, friend of Toscanini, who chose the island as his buen retiro, and Andrea Ruffoni, born on the island, who left an original sculpture to be placed on his tomb. Andrea Ruffoni's house hosts the eponymous Foundation which presents the artist's works in a charming atmosphere where time seems to stand still.