The Accademia Tadini and the village on the lake
Smaller and quieter than Lake Garda and Lake Como, Lake Iseo, between the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia, is surrounded by mountains, vineyards and olive groves, with Monte Isola rising in the middle. At its northern tip, where the Oglio river enters from Valcamonica, lies Lovere, one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia", with tall, colourful houses overlooking the harbour and a medieval centre of steep lanes and towers.
Lovere's treasure is the Accademia Tadini, an art gallery founded in 1828 by Count Luigi Tadini in a neoclassical palace on the lake, which holds paintings by Jacopo Bellini, Paris Bordone, Palma il Vecchio and Tiepolo, porcelain, and a moving marble stele by Antonio Canova, dedicated to the count's son, who died young. The Basilica of Santa Maria in Valvendra has fifteenth century frescoes and organ shutters by Floriano Ferramola. From Lovere, the lakeside road runs south to Iseo and Sarnico, and boats connect the villages on both shores. Near Pisogne, the church of Santa Maria della Neve is frescoed by Romanino.
Tip: the "Orrido di Bögn", a narrow gorge along the eastern shore near Zone, and the earth pyramids of Zone are worth a detour.
Where it is
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