​BORROMEAN ISLANDS, a group of four islands on the W. side of Lago Maggiore off Baveno and Stresa. The southernmost, the Isola Bella, is famous for its château and terraced gardens, constructed by Count Vitaliano Borromeo (d. 1690). To the N.W. is the Isola dei Pescatori, containing a fishing village; and to the N.E. of this the Isola Madre, the largest of the group, with a château and garden; and to the N. again, off Pallanza, is the little Isola S. Giovanni.