Located in Val d’Ossola, on flat terrain surrounded by mountains, Domodossola at first sight looks unpromising, but ignore the unprepossessing outskirts and wander into the narrow car-free alleyways in the centre and you’ll find a perfectly preserved medieval town centre, a delightfully atmospheric warren of cobbled lanes and endearingly scruffy buildings, old fashioned shops, ornate wooden doors and balconies, rickety old wooden stairs, churches and tiny squares some of which boast lovely fountains. 

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But the jewel in the crown is undoubtedly Domodossola’s small main square, Piazza del Mercato, where time seems to have stood still for centuries.

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Car-free and pleasingly ungentrified, with plaster peeling off some of the magnificent buildings, there are several unpretentious bars where you can sit outdoors and watch the world going by. Look out for the Kamares ceramics shop, probably the only place selling genuine, locally made crafts.

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Another essential destination for idle browsing is Grossi, a local institution and one of two bookshops cum publishers in the Lago Maggiore/Verbania area; it specialises in books on local history and geography.

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The glorious medieval centre also encompasses other smaller, but equally picturesque squares which have recently been renovated. These ambitious works which have put a sparkle back into the town, are particularly atmospheric as evening falls and street lights are switched on.

 

Market day

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Market day (Saturday) is a special occasion and has been for hundreds of years. Crowds throng the central streets in search of bargains and countless colourful stalls enliven the streets; in the same way that famous Luino market has a special allure for Swiss visitors, hundreds take the train from Switzerland under the Simplon Pass on Saturday mornings to visit Domodossola’s market and maybe to eat in one of the picturesque restaurants in the town centre.

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Heading in the opposite direction, from Monday to Friday are hundreds of local commuters (frontalieri) who work over the border in Switzerland.

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Most of the items for sale in the market are the same as in other markets (clothes, fruit and vegetables, household articles, cheese and salami etc) but search out the tiny stalls selling local produce. We highly recommend the cheese sold by a wizened old farmer - so seasoned it has become hard and brown.

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If you are just passing through Domodossola as part of the Lago Maggiore Express tour (train from Stresa/Arona to Domodossola followed by the mountain railway to Locarno and the boat back to Stresa/Arona), time might be tight but the town centre is only five minutes’ walk from the grand station and well worth the walk. Many people consider Domossola more attractive than Locarno.

Fortunately, the mountain railway leaves from the same station. Follow the signs.

 

Unesco World Heritage Site, the Sacro Monte Calvario

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If you are doing the Lago Maggiore Express circuit you will probably not have sufficient time to visit Domodossola’s other major draw: its Unesco World Heritage Site, the Sacro Monte Calvario, half an hour’s walk outside the centre.

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At the very pinnacle of things on a wooded hill just outside town, this Holy Mountain, dating back to 1656, comprises 15 stations of the cross containing tableaux vivants.

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Like many other important monuments in Italy, the timescale for completion of the works was incredibly long with the final, wooden statue only being added to the fifth chapel in 1957, three hundred years after the first stones were laid.

Aside from the chapels, there are other sites of interest, including a ruined castle destroyed in 1415 by Swiss soldiers and a Sanctuary to welcome pilgrims on completion of the cobbled via crucis. On the way up, the views over the mountains and valley floor are spectacular.