Discover Meina: Churches, Art and Walking Routes

Meina offers a variety of ways to shape your stay: a multimedia tour at the Museo Meina, churches with their own architectural and artistic histories, art on the lakeshore and a Memory Route in the town centre, as well as the Val-Cabbia route between Meina and Nebbiuno. If you’re looking for a hotel in Meina, these themes can help shape your idea of a stay. Museum exhibits, architecture and a route through wooded hills each offer a different focus.

Museo Meina: journeys of discovery and nature themes

Online booking is required to visit the Museo Meina. Check visitor information before your trip. IMAGO is a multimedia tour about journeys of discovery in the past, bringing together history, imagination and fantasy. The focus is therefore not only on journeys, but also on their historical context and the worlds they conjure up.

The Antiche Serre add local and exotic plant species to the mix. There is also an exhibition about butterflies and insects from the area. This brings together botanical and natural history topics: on the one hand, plants from different regions of origin; on the other, butterflies and insects from the surrounding area. Anyone interested in nature will find another point of interest here alongside the theme of journeys of discovery.

Churches spanning Romanesque architecture and frescoes

The church of Santa Maria Assunta is in the hamlet of Ghevio, on the hill known as “Fortezza”. Its Romanesque bell tower dates from the late 11th century, stands about 30 metres high and has seven levels. Its approximate height and clearly stated number of levels give an idea of the tower’s dimensions. From the church, views extend across the Vergante hills and, on a clear day, as far as Lake Maggiore.

The parish church of Santa Margherita offers a different historical point of reference. It was consecrated in 1785, replacing an older Romanesque church. Its apse contains three frescoes dating from 1817. The consecration and the frescoes thus belong to different periods. Compared with the Romanesque bell tower in Ghevio, this offers a broader view of the different eras that can be experienced in Meina’s churches.

Art by the lake and a Memory Route in the town centre

“A Head from Meina”, an imposing bronze head, stands on the shore of Lake Maggiore. The artwork is just a few steps from the former Hotel Meina. In the town centre, the Memory Route leads to Stolpersteine (memorial cobblestones) set into the paving of Piazza Marconi; they lie in front of the area where the hotel once stood. The lakeshore and Piazza Marconi are two distinct locations: the artwork is by the lake, while the Stolpersteine are in the town centre. The Memory Route is outdoors. If conditions change, check accessibility on site.

The Val-Cabbia route through wooded hills

The Val-Cabbia route between Meina and Nebbiuno follows the entire course of an old road and passes through a wooded hill. Chestnut, ash and black locust trees are the main features of the woodland. The route description thus brings together two specific features: its alignment along the old road and the trees growing on the hill. This offers a different focus from the churches and artworks: those more interested in landscapes and routes than in architectural history can explore these aspects here.

Discover more destinations: Pella, Silvera, Agrate Conturbia, Veruno, Casalino, Ameno, Armeno, Recetto

For the broader travel overview: Novara.