The name probably comes from the vulgar Latin Guiffa, a marker set to show the edge of a property, or from the Germanic Wifa, a boundary sign: either way, a mark of a limit. In front of the village Lake Maggiore reaches its deepest point, 372 metres.
On the wooded slopes of Monte Cargiago stands the Sacro Monte, which in 2003 joined the UNESCO world heritage list together with the six other sacred mountains of Piedmont. In the seventeenth century cardinal Giacomo Antonio Morigia, tutor to the grand duke of Tuscany and archbishop of Florence, made Ghiffa a meeting place for artists and writers.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Ghiffa
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Ghiffa, but an easy day trip away.