Arcumeggia, Lake Maggiore

High up above the lakes is the village of Arcumeggia in the mountains. It is famous because in 1956 the local tourist office decided to ask important Italian painters to fresco the walls of the town's stone cottages.

Known as the "Paese dei Pittori" (Painter's Village), the frescoes, combined with the mountain setting, give the town an atmospheric feel. They were made between 1960 and 1960, and there are works by Aldo Carpi, Aligi Sassu, Giovanni Brancaccio, Antonio Pedretti and many, many more.

In the painter's house there is an exhibition of the drafts used to turn this village into an open-air museum. It attracts many tourists and it is definitely a worthy detour.