Along the lake Maggiore shores, facing the Borromean islands Baveno is a little town in Piedmont region,  Its territory is rich in history, traditions and culture. There are plenty of archaeological, artistic and architectural testimonies: from the findings of the ‘neolithic’ age (2500-1800 B.C.) in the hamlet of Feriolo, important and thriving commercial port, both on the lake and on the river, linking the Ossola Valley and the territories on the other side of the Alps to the capitals of Lombardy and the maritime centres of Venice and Genoa; to the remains of the Roman age documented by tombstones and discoveries found in the necropolis (I-II centuries A. D.), with domestic and funerary furnishings, arms, bronze and golden coins (IV-V centuries A. D.) to the Roman architecture witnessed in the monumental complex of  St. Gervaso and Protaso Church in the centre of Baveno. The quarrying of the precious pink granite started in the XVI century, while the architecture of the XVII and XVIII centuries is represented by churches and numerous devotional chapels, linked one to the other by quiet walks that offer wonderful panoramic views. In the XIX century, the development of important commercial routes like the opening of the carriage road of the Simplon (1807), wanted by Napoleon to link Paris to Milan and the launch of the first steamboats (1826) with on-board restaurants for tourist navigation of Lake Maggiore transformed Baveno into a ‘post-city’ where stage-coaches headed. The privileged geographical position of Baveno, the first city onto the lake for people arriving from Northern Europe and the last for those returning back home passing through the Simplon Pass, and the many attractions it offers to those who, according to a local journal, ‘tired of travelling, stop at the hotels for some days to enjoy the fresh air and the wonderful view’, make of it a perfect place for a break. The strengthening of the railway linking Genoa and Turin, the completion of the railway Novara-Domodossola (1888) and in 1906 the opening of the Simplon tunnel, directly linking Lake Maggiore with Switzerland, definitely inserted Baveno in the circuit of international tourism.