Pella · Lake Orta
Boatyard in Pella, across from Orta and Isola San Giulio, that rents licence-free 20 hp and 40 hp boats, an electric boat and kayaks.
Licence-free and electric boats from €160 for 5 h
Languages: ITSacro Monte di Orta
The Sacro Monte di Orta is a sacred mountain on the wooded hill above Orta San Giulio, on the promontory that juts into Lake Orta. Twenty chapels along a path over the top tell the life of Saint Francis of Assisi in frescoes and 376 life-size statues of painted terracotta, with views over the lake and Isola San Giulio. It is the only Sacro Monte devoted entirely to one saint.
The community decided to build it in 1583; work began in 1590 and went on, in three phases, until 1785. Since 1980 it has been a regional nature reserve, and since 2003, with eight other Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Getting there
On foot from Orta San Giulio: about 20 minutes uphill, on a paved and cobbled path with steps. Orta-Miasino station, on the Novara–Domodossola line, is also about 20 minutes' walk away. By car, set the sat-nav to “località Sacro Monte di Orta, 28016 Orta (NO)”. A private, paid tourist train links the car park area on Via Panoramica in Orta with the Sacro Monte, Piazzale Prarondo and Legro.
Parking
The Sacro Monte's own car parks are for cars only and charge from 9:00 to 24:00: €2 an hour or €10 a day. They are free from 15 to 31 December, and from 1 January to 28 February you pay only at weekends and on holidays; the fees go to restoring the Sacri Monti. Campers and coaches may not drive up: they use the spaces along the road to Orta, 20 minutes' walk away.
Opening hours and visits
Chapel hours change with the season. From 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027 they are 9:30–16:00 Monday to Friday and 9:30–16:30 at weekends and on holidays; from 29 March to 24 October 2026 they were 9:30–18:00 and 9:30–18:30. The church is open every day from 9:00 to 18:00, with Mass at 17:00, and on Sundays and holidays also at 11:00.
The Info Point at chapel I runs 90-minute guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays: €10 a person, €7 from 12 to 18 and over 65, free under 12; booking is advised (+39 331 206 77 75, info.orta@sacri-monti.com). The paths between the chapels have steps, cobbles, gravel and slopes. Visitors who cannot walk may drive to the church of San Nicolao with a disabled badge. Eating and drinking is not allowed inside the reserve, except at the Osteria Sacro Monte by chapel I and the picnic areas outside it.
What to see
The twenty chapels
Each chapel stages an episode of Francis's life with sculpture and painting, from his birth in chapel I. The first one built, in 1591, was chapel XX, his canonisation. Artists included the Fiammenghini, Morazzone, Cristoforo Prestinari, the d'Enrico brothers, Dionigi Bussola and the Nuvolone brothers.
Church of San Nicolao
The visit ends in this proto-Romanesque church, remodelled in the 17th century in imitation of the Lower Basilica of Assisi. It keeps a 14th-century wooden Pietà.
The entrance arch
A statue of Saint Francis by Dionigi Bussola stands on the arch at the entrance, over a Latin inscription: here, in ordered chapels, you see the life of Francis; the author is love.
Boats on Lake Orta4
Omegna · Lake Orta
Beach club on Lake Orta at Omegna that rents licence-free open boats, a cabin boat and Whaly RIBs, and delivers boats anywhere on the lake.
Licence-free boats from €130 for 3 h
Season: All year (on reservation)
Languages: EN · ITOmegna · Lake Orta
Rents small licence-free boats from Omegna on Lake Orta, with a web app for GPS tracking, an SOS button and audio guides.
Licence-free boats from €110 for 3 h, fuel included
Languages: ITOrta San Giulio · Lake Orta
Consortium that runs the boat service between Orta and Isola San Giulio and also hires out boats with a driver, on request.
Languages: IT · EN · FR
Questions visitors ask
Is the Sacro Monte di Orta a UNESCO site?
Yes. Since 2003 it has been part of the World Heritage Site “Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy”, with eight other sacred mountains.
How long is the walk up from Orta San Giulio?
About 20 minutes, uphill on a paved and cobbled path with steps.
When is the Sacro Monte open in winter?
From 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027 the chapels open 9:30–16:00 on weekdays and 9:30–16:30 at weekends and on holidays. The church is open daily from 9:00 to 18:00.
Can I park at the Sacro Monte?
Yes, with a car: €2 an hour or €10 a day from 9:00 to 24:00, free from 15 to 31 December, and in January and February paid only at weekends and on holidays. Campers and coaches park along the road to Orta.
More around Lake Orta
Researched from: sacrimonti.org, it.wikipedia.org, wikidata.org, distrettolaghi.it, OpenStreetMap · checked 2026-10-27.