Point of interestSant’Anna Gorge
Cannobio
The Orrido di Sant’Anna near Cannobio is a natural spectacle, a gorge carved out of the rock by the River Cannobino. Stand on the bridge and be awed by the sheer smooth rock walls and the dark green deep water far below.
Thousands of years of continuous erosion by the rushing mountain stream have cut this gully 25 metres deep.
Two bridges span this narrow cleft in the rock: one ancient and narrow (the “agostana bridge”) and the other carrying the motor road.
The Orrido is called after the nearby Sanctuary, which was commissioned in 1638 by people born in the area but living in Rome. The high altar has splendid black marble Solomonic columns, and valuable paintings illustrating the life of St Anne. The striking frescoed chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto, which forms the apse of the church, may be very old and certainly predates the church.
How to get there
By car: from the A26 motorway take the exit for Verbania (Baveno or Gravellona) and continue along the SS34 lakeside road to a few kilometres from the Swiss border.By train: the nearest railway station is Verbania, 29 km from Cannobio. From the station you can reach Cannobio using public transport (bus).
