From Hotel Borromeo to a family home
The Italian-Canadian John Canessa purchases the eighteenth-century inn with its adjoining post station of the Simplon mail-coach, and enlarges it to give Belgirate its first luxury hotel: the Hotel Borromeo. The excellent service, fine finishes, well-tended garden, lake view and mild climate attract a wide Italian and international clientele, securing its success for the next twenty-five years.
Gaspare Piceni, a Genoese shipowner from Magognino, is spending the summer in the family home when his daughter Rosa, little more than a teenager, catches a bad fever that shows no sign of fading. Venturino Martelli, Belgirate's young doctor, is called urgently and soon cures her. Strangely, though, her convalescence seems never-ending: the doctor's visits become endless, so much so that Gaspare urges him to look after the truly sick. With the charming doctor gone, Rosa grows melancholic — and her regretful father allows the visits to resume.
Soon after, the two decide to marry, and Gaspare blesses the wedding by buying the Hotel Borromeo — which had meanwhile ceased its activity — and giving it to Rosa. Villa Piceni thus becomes a family residence and, thanks to the brilliant personality of Dr. Venturino Martelli, is for many years the heart of social life on the Piedmont shore of Lake Maggiore. Children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren return every year for their summer holidays.
Ignazio and Guido Fiume, fifth-generation descendants of Gaspare Piceni, with an act of love reminiscent of their ancestor's, have undertaken a profound restoration that has returned the property to its ancient splendour — making it available for events, celebrations, ceremonies and stays in the evocative setting of Lake Maggiore.
