In Lake Maggiore, just off the picturesque village of Ronco, are the two small islands of Brissago. On the larger one is a botanic garden of Mediterranean flora, displaying about 1,500 species of exotic plants arranged by their geographical origins.
Plants native to subtropical regions thrive outdoors in this latitude because of the warming effect of the lake. The gardens were begun in 1885 by Baroness Antonietta Saint Leger, who not only collected the plants but cataloged them in detail.
