Ortello Bay is a little beach on Lake Orta, belonging to the village of Orta San Giulio.

In the past there was an ancient village of farmers and fishermen here, which had sprung up in the Middle Ages on the stretch of land from the bay up the slopes of what is now the Sacro Monte. This settlement was later destroyed by the Crespi family, who wanted to use the area to build the opulent Moorish-style residence that now stands at the entrance to the Orta peninsula, and to extend the English-style park. The only traces now of the ancient village are the Pattaroni houses and the houses of the Seminary.

The houses farther along the shore from the beach were also spared when the villa was being built; you can see them now if you walk along a cobbled path on the shore, known as the “strada delle piodade”, flanked by stone walls and buildings that emanate the atmosphere of a bygone world.