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Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Province
This small and mountainous province is the northernmost
in the Piedmont (Piemonte in Italian) and often abbreviated
as VCO. It actually shares a larger border with Switzerland
than the rest of Italy and is home to nearly as many
speakers of German and French as Italian.
The breathtaking natural beauty of this province comes
from the many mountains that are cut through with deep
river valleys.
The southeastern border of the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
province is formed by the banks of the massive Alpine
lake of Lake Maggiore that is bordered by several provinces.
As such, other than the ski resorts in the north and
vacation spots in the south, the province is rather
sparsely populated, in sharp contrast with Turin to
the south and west.
The capital city of the province is Verbania, located
on the lake and was created from the merger of the medieval
towns of Pallanza and Intra. It has served as the provincial
capital of VCO since the early 1990s. Handcrafts are
very popular here and you’ll find a great deal for sale
in the small shops of this largely resort town of fewer
than 35,000 residents.
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