Climate and geography

The Brissago Islands are located at a latitude of 46°08’ N and at 08°44’ longitude E.

The Isola Grande has an area of 25'568 m², the Isola Piccola of 8'186 m².

From the mean lake level, which is of 193.50 m MSL, the Isola Grande rises 6.50 m, the Isola Piccola 6.90 m.

The Brissago Islands are located in the northernmost part of the insubric Alps, in the Kinzigitic Zone, so named by the kinzigitic gneiss forming the rocky substrate and emerging in several points, particularly along the shore of the Isola Piccola.

In the remaining part the rock is covered by a thin morainic layer. The Brissago Islands are the two tops of a hill shaped by erosion along the ancient watershed line of the Ticino and Maggia valleys.

Immersed in the Lago Maggiore, which accumulates heat during Summer and returns it during Winter, sheltered by the Alpine range and rich in sun, the Brissago Islands benefit from a particularly mild climate, with only a few frost days.

It is a real subtropical climate.