Santa Caterina del Sasso

Located on a rocky cliff overlooking the lake, the Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso is, without doubt, one with the most evocative view of Lake Maggiore.

The history of this place of worship dates back to 1170, when a rich merchant named Alberto Besozzi, while sailing on the lake, found himself in the middle of a violent storm and invoked the help of Santa Caterina. Washed up and shipwrecked on the nearest rocks, he kept the vow he had made, and spent the rest of his life living there as a hermit. The inhabitants of the neighbouring areas began to worship Saint Catherine and the blessed Hermit, and as a sign of devotion they built some chapels in the place of the rescue. The beautiful church decorated with frescoes that can be visited today was built in the sixteenth century, and the old chapels were incorporated into the current structure. It was built overhanging the lake, on a rock that sinks deep into the darkness of the waters, where they reach a depth of 200 metres. After several vicissitudes, the hermitage was closed in 1770 with the advent of the Hapsburg Empire. After exactly two centuries, in 1970, the restoration project was launched, which lasted 16 years. In 1986, the Hermitage of Santa Caterina reopened.