Fondotoce: Nature and Remembrance

Fondotoce can be explored through two themes: the history of the Resistance and the landscape of the Riserva Naturale di Fondotoce. When planning your visit, you can decide whether to focus mainly on the memorial sites or explore the paths and habitats of the nature reserve. Both options offer concrete starting points for a stay.

Remembrance and history in Fondotoce

The Casa della Resistenza stands in a 16,000-square-metre park, beside the site where 43 partisans were shot by Nazi-Fascist soldiers on 20 June 1944. The park’s size and its location next to this historic site are part of the context for a visit. The Parco della Memoria e della Pace includes a monumental area dedicated to the Resistance.

The Casa della Resistenza offers educational programmes on contemporary history and significant episodes in local history, particularly the history of the Resistance. Guided tours last about an hour and a half and require an advance booking arranged in agreement. If you are planning such a tour, allow for both its approximate duration and the required booking.

Memorial events are also linked to the anniversary of the massacre: events were held for the 81st and 82nd anniversaries. For the 82nd anniversary, a memorial event took place at the Casa della Resistenza in Fondotoce; a procession arrived at the Parco della Memoria e della Pace in Verbania. The two places mentioned represent different parts of the commemoration: the event in Fondotoce and the procession’s destination in Verbania.

Reed beds, river and lakes

In the Riserva Naturale di Fondotoce, reed beds are the most distinctive habitat. They provide a suitable habitat for the reproduction of lake fish and nesting sites for bird species. The reed beds therefore combine a distinctive landscape feature with their role as a habitat. The Riserva Naturale del Fondo Toce also includes the final stretch of the Toce River.

The reed-bed canal is an important landmark for cycle routes: the paths in the Riserva Naturale di Fondotoce follow its course. The canal connects Lago Maggiore with Lago di Mergozzo. Other options along the cycle routes include reaching beaches and observation points or following the Toce upstream. This makes it possible to distinguish between different destinations and directions, rather than treating them as a single route.

Cycle routes and a hike to Cavandone

If you want to explore the landscape by bicycle, the cycle routes described here run alongside the reed-bed canal and also provide access to beaches and observation points. The connection to the river is separate: you can follow the Toce upstream. The information therefore describes both a connection between two lakes and ways to navigate by the river, places along the shore and observation points.

The hiking connection is route A00e. It starts in the village of Fondotoce, in the Canton Magistris district, opposite the entrance to the Riserva Naturale del Fondo Toce, and leads to Cavandone. This gives you two different ways to include routes in your plans: the cycle routes within the nature reserve and a hiking route that starts in Fondotoce and ends in Cavandone.

The railway station as a reference point for your visit

The railway connection can also be useful when planning a visit to the Casa della Resistenza: the Casa is about one kilometre from Verbania Pallanza station on the international Milan–Domodossola railway line. This distance gives you a specific reference point when coordinating your visit with your travel plans. Remember that the guided tour still requires an advance booking arranged in agreement.

Discover more destinations: Mozzio, Oggebbio, Cannero Riviera, Agrano, Scareno, Antrona Schieranco, Druogno, Quarna Sotto

For the broader travel overview: Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.