The best traffic-free bike rides around Gargallo

excellent urban redevelopment, it also allows you to cut a very busy section of the state road

From this beautiful lakeside path you can enjoy an excellent view of the island of San Giulio.

The patronage of this shrine, dedicated to the Madonna, refers to the town of LORETO. This is one of the large and important Marian pilgrimage sites in Europe, along with LOURDES in the French Pyrenees and FATIMA in Portugal. Unlike the other two places mentioned, however, Loreto is not known for apparitions of the Mother of God. Here, pilgrims can show something very tangible: Mary's childhood home in Nazareth (Israel). Her parents - not mentioned by name in the biblical writings of the New Testament - are mentioned in apocryphal traditions: Saint ANNA and Saint JOACHIM are thus the grandparents of Jesus Christ (their common memorial day in the calendar of saints is July 26). When the time of the Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land came to an end towards the end of the 13th century, crusaders probably dismantled the venerated building in Nazareth and brought it to Europe. But this very sober assumption is contradicted by a much more interesting legend: According to it, four angels carried out the translation and flew the house over the Mediterranean.

The website www.bikelagodorta.it publishes for free, without any commercial purpose, about seventy bicycle routes in the territory of Lake Orta through GPX tracks. The tracks all start from the town of Gozzano and all end in Gozzano, but it is possible to start following a GPX track from any point of the route according to your needs.

The washhouse of Invorio Superiore is in excellent condition, with water still flowing and draining from the large stone basin. Like so many other aspects of Invorio Superiore, this one also echoes the life of times gone by, beautifully evoked throughout the town.

The origins of the church are thought to date back to the 13th century, although some scholars suggest that there was an even older place of worship on the same site, probably a small chapel used by pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. In fact, being dedicated to St. James, it is possible that the church had a symbolic role in the medieval pilgrimage route, a sort of sacred stop for those moving towards Spain. Over the centuries, the structure has been modified and expanded several times. Subsequent interventions have enriched the original Romanesque architecture with Gothic and Renaissance elements, as often happened in local churches that reflected the architectural transformations of the time. Even today, it is possible to glimpse remains of medieval frescoes and ancient decorations that make the interior of the church very interesting.

Along the streets and alleys of Invorio Superiore you can admire a long series of vintage photos that illustrate moments of the past life of the town. The characteristic of the photos is given by the fact that they represent the life of the town as it once was, through shots that have immortalized the villagers busy with their daily chores, or in special moments, such as the wedding day. A dive into the past, very engaging.

The Church of San Rocco was built in the 17th century. Today, mass is celebrated once a year, on the day of San Rocco, August 16. In the past, however, several masses were celebrated during the day and the first, the morning one, ended with the blessing of the animals. Therefore, as the sign posted in front of the church recalls, it was customary for dogs, goats, sheep, pigs and donkeys to be found in front of the church in the morning, waiting to receive the priestly blessing.