The Rocca of Angera

The Rocca di Angera dominates the southern end of Lake Maggiore, and is the result of five different buildings: the Ala Scaligera, the Ala Viscontea, the Torre di Giovanni Visconti, the Ala dei Borromeo. Of great importance is the hall of justice which houses the cycle of frescoes created in the thirteenth by the 'Maestro di Angera'; the frescoes tell the story of Archbishop Ottone Visconti, in particular his victory over the Torriani in the battle of Desio in 1277. The Mythology room houses a vast collection of majolica with over three hundred pieces of Dutch, French, German, Italian and Chinese manufacture , Spanish and Persian. Around the Rocca there is the garden of medieval origin created by the great master gardeners of the Borromeo house who gradually created them based on the study of documents and codes of the time. The Rocca houses the Doll and Toy Museum, founded in 1988 by Princess Bona Borromeo Arese. The museum houses over a thousand dolls made from the eighteenth century onwards, with the most particular materials: wood, papier-mâché, wax, porcelain, biscuit etc; richly dressed and equipped with miniature kits. Along with the dolls, numerous toys are exhibited such as model cars, board games, comics, educational magazines, stickers and everything related to the world of children's play. The exhibition is divided into twelve rooms, underdeveloped in monothematic sections such as a room dedicated to toys from extra-European cultures. On the first floor is the collection of the master Pesché, a collection of small French and German mechanical games produced in the 19th century. The Roberta della Seta Sommi Picenardi collection brings together a series of miniature furniture made between the 18th and 20th centuries.