Italy · IT

Fontana di san Giulio

Tucked in the woods where a narrow valley slides down to Lake Orta, the Fountain of San Giulio is one of the quietest and most atmospheric shrines on the lake's western shore. At its heart is a spring said to gush from the living rock, beside a small 16th-century oratory raised in honour of Saint Julius, the evangeliser whose legend binds the whole lake. Pilgrims once came here by the thousands to draw water believed to heal the sick, call the rain and drive locusts from the fields. Today the site is open free of charge and easy to reach: a few dozen steps along a flagstoned lane from Via Monte Bianco lead you into a hush of trees and stone. It is a place for a short, contemplative stop rather than a grand monument—part of a walk that ties the hillside villages to the lake and to the island of San Giulio glowing across the water.