“Lago Maggiore LetterAltura” is a festival focusing on literature inspired by mountains, travel and adventure, launched by a group of volunteers in 2007. The main part of the programme takes place in Verbania during the last week of June, with other events held in the mountain valleys of the province on weekends in July.

Many of the literary events of the Festival have as their venue the streets and squares of the historic town centres, where invited authors meet the public informally over coffee and croissants or an aperitif, to talk about their books and discuss topics relating to mountains, travel or adventure.

The Festival does not aim to present new books or individual titles; it’s more an opportunity for writers and readers to meet in an informal, lively spirit of cultural exchange. The works of the invited authors are displayed and sold in the Festival’s bookshop, a marquee erected in the main square of Verbania.

A variety of themed performances and workshops, some specially designed for children, accompanies the literary programme.

Authors participating in previous LetterAltura festivals include Nobel Prize winners Gao Xingjian  and Vandana Shiva, as well as many other notable personalities such as the eminent climber Reinhold Messner,  film director Ermanno Olmi,   philosopher Serge Latouche, head of the Italian Civil Protection Agency Guido Bertolaso, writer Erri De Luca, journalist Lorenzo Cremonesi, photographer Seamus Murphy and film director Giorgio Diritti.