Photos

Isola Madre, one of the three Borromean islands has a large garden and one can see many pheasants darting across the lawns or meandering through the bushes. Although used to visitors, they can be difficult to photograph as the go about their business. One second you see them, the next they are in the thickets.

I am surprised that I managed to get this chappy fairly sharply at 1/40 of a second.

This is the Golden Pheasant (hence the title). There were also Silver Pheasants and other varieties that I cannot name.

The Borromean Islands (It. Isole Borromee) are a group of three small islands and two islets in the Italian part of Lago Maggiore, located in the western arm of the lake, between Verbania to the north and Stresa to the south. Together totaling just 50 acres (20 hectares) in area, they are a major local tourist attraction for their picturesque setting.

Their name derives from the Borromeo family, which started acquiring them in the early 16th century (Isola Madre) and still owns the majority of them (Isola Madre, Bella, San Giovanni) today.

Isola Bella, named for Isabella, countess Borromeo, was originally a largely barren rock; after first improvements and buildings, opened by count Carlo III between 1629 and 1652, his son Vitaliano the 6th built an attractive summer palace, bringing in vast quantities of soil in order to build up a system of ten terraces for the garden. The unfinished building displays paintings by Lombard artists and Flemish tapestries.
Isola Madre, the largest of the three, is also noted for its gardens, which are maintained from about 1823 in an English style. Its palace, though uninhabited, is splendidly furnished with 16th to 19th century Italian masterpieces and paintings.
Isola dei Pescatori or Isola Superiore is now the only inhabited island in the archipelago. It has a fishing village, which in 1971 had a population of 208.