View of Isola di San Giulio from Orta san Giulio.
My friend Maria Ruggieri, the famous jewelry designer of Providence (her firm, Ti Adoro, at tiadorojewelry.com), recently visited the Italian family seat of her boyfriend, Gigi, of Toronto, who is from the lovely region of Lake Orta near Milan. She took pictures, bless her, and here are just a few from among the most evocative. (Maria, I didn’t know you were such a sharpshooter!!!)
Chapel in the town of Ronca on Lake Orta
View of Lake Orta from town of Pella.
Main and only street on Isola san Giulio.
Gigi’s family villa, the “Little House,” in town of Vaciago, above Lake Orta.
View of the Duomo in Milan.
About David Brussat
This blog was begun in 2009 as a feature of the Providence Journal, where I was on the editorial board and wrote a weekly column of architecture criticism for three decades. Architecture Here and There fights the style wars for classical architecture and against modern architecture, no holds barred.
History Press asked me to write and in August 2017 published my first book, "Lost Providence." I am now writing my second book.
My freelance writing on architecture and other topics addresses issues of design and culture locally and globally.
I am a member of the board of the New England chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, which bestowed an Arthur Ross Award on me in 2002.
I work from Providence, R.I., where I live with my wife Victoria, my son Billy and our cat Gato.
If you would like to employ my writing and editing to improve your work, please email me at my consultancy, dbrussat@gmail.com, or call 401.351.0457.
Testimonial: "Your work is so wonderful - you now enter my mind and write what I
would have written."
- Nikos Salingaros, mathematician at the University of Texas, architectural theorist and author of many books.
Architecture Here and There 
I was very touched by your article David. It will be nice to talk more about this small lake, often shadowed by the fame of the bigger lakes like Maggiore, Como and Garda. All the best to you and hope to see you very soon in RI. Gigi
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The pleasure was mine, Gigi, and someday I too will, I hope, take pictures and write purple prose from the shores of the dear Orta!
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David, you flatter me so! Gigi and I were so thrilled to see the images on the blog. I never get tired of looking at them.
See you for a walkabout soon!
Maria
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When you arrived in Italy, Maria, Italy got more beautiful. When you left it got less beautiful. Luckily, Italy has lots of beauty to spare. My best to lucky Gigi!
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Thanks for sharing, its all I can do to not hop an Alitalia flight this evening!
Not a single modern building, parking garage, highway, or automobile (albeit one delivery vehicle) visible in any of the pictures. That is also why we like venice, cinquaterre, and all the auto-free places, even if we woul find it hard to live without a parking spot next to every place we go.
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If she doesn’t marry him, I will. What a spectacular adventure! Brava!
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Love the pictures. Though I appreciate the sense of scale pollarding the plaza trees provides, I just wish they would let them grow!
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As always, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
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