In 1872, the eighteenth-century inn, along with the adjoining coach inn once owned by the mail-coach company which operated on the Napoleonic road towards the Sempione pass, was expanded to become the refined Hotel Borromeo. At the end of the nineteenth century, the hotel became a family residence when the Genoese shipping magnate Gaspare Piceni gifted it to his daughter Rosa when she married Venturino Martelli. It then became the holiday residence for their descendants and the current owners. After five generations and more than a century, Ignazio and Guido Fiume have decided to bring the villa back to its ancient splendour by embarking on a robust renovation that embraces both tradition and modernity. The renovation included the refurbishment of the original materials, while the property’s electrical, plumbing and service areas were all modernized. Today, Villa Piceni offers its guests the flavour of a nineteenth-century palace with the comforts of a contemporary home. Its large ground-floor halls with views over the lake and the courtyard can accommodate events, ceremonies and celebrations, while the upper-floor suites are available to overnight guests.

The property of the building is driven by the dream of bringing this structure back to its former glory and the desire to share with guests this dream and the emotion of this return to its origins.

‘‘Belgirate Village charmant qui mantient ce que son nom promet: un beau tour sur le lac’’ Stendhal Belle girate, which means Beautiful walks, truly describes this delightful village nestled on the western shore of Lake Maggiore. Situated on the extreme end of the promontory that separates the southern part of the lake from the gulf of Borromeo, and half way between Arona and Stresa, Belgirate boasts a mild climate tempered by the lake and the Vergante hills that surround it. The location, beauty, and history that has its roots into a bygone era have attracted celebrities including poets, writers, industrialists, and ‘Patrioti’ who loved to walk its narrow streets. Goethe, Stendhal, Manzoni, Hemingway, to name a few, are among the visitors who found inspiration in Belgirate.