Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola

Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Province
Stresa in foreground (province of Varese across lake)
Flag Coat of arms
Map highlighting the location of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in Italy
Country	Italy
Region	Piedmont
Capital(s)	Verbania
Comuni	74
Government
• President	Alessandro Lana
Area
• Total	2,255 km2 (871 sq mi)
Population  (2006)
• Total	161,732
• Density	72/km2 (190/sq mi)
GDP [1]
• Total	€3.733 billion (2015)
• Per capita	€23,259 (2015)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	Verbania: 28921-28925, Other areas: 28811-28897
Telephone prefix	0163, 0322, 0323, 0324
ISO 3166 code	VB
Vehicle registration	VB
ISTAT	103

The province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (Italian: provincia del Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italian: [verˈbaːno ˈkuːzjo ˈɔssola]) is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. It was created in 1992 through the fusion of three geographical areas which had previously been part of the province of Novara. The area flanking the western shore of Verbano (or Lago Maggiore) forms the eastern part of the province; Cusio (or Lago d’Orta) and its environs form the southern part; while the north and west of the province consist of the Ossola, a region of Alpine mountains and valleys. The ISO code for the province is VB.

The province has a total population of some 160,000, distributed over an area of 2,255 square kilometres (871 sq mi), with the biggest population centres being its capital Verbania on the shores of Lago Maggiore, Domodossola the main town of the Ossola, and Omegna at the northern end of Lago d’Orta.

There are 74 comuni (sg.: comune) in the province.[1] The largest by population are:

Comune	Population
Verbania	30,836
Domodossola	18,362
Omegna	15,949
Gravellona Toce	7,595
Villadossola	6,915
Cannobio	5,113
Stresa	5,104

In 2003, the Sacred Mountain of Domodossola and the Sacred Mountain of Ghiffa were inserted by UNESCO in the World Heritage List.

• 
  Sacro Monte di Domodossola
  View of the chapels IX and XI
• 
  Sacro Monte di Domodossola
  Chapel IX
• 
  Sacro Monte di Domodossola
• 
  Sacro Monte di Ghiffa
  Crucifixion and Trinity, 16th century
• 
  Sacro Monte di Ghiffa
  Unknown artist of the 18th century, Three Angels visiting Abraham
• 
  Sacro Monte di Ghiffa
  Landscape from the Sacro Monte

Common in the whole Insubria area are bruscitti, originating from Alto Milanese, which consist in a braised meat dish cut very thin and cooked in wine and fennel seeds, historically obtained by stripping leftover meat.

The top eight countries of origin of the inhabitants of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola with foreign citizenship at 31 December 2010 were:^[2]

• Ukraine: 1724
• Morocco: 1402
• Romania: 1233
• Albania: 770
• China: 737
• Senegal: 429
• Germany: 315
• Switzerland: 219

• Official website
• Portale del Lago Maggiore - a portal run by the local Trading Chamber
• Official web site for European Sacred Mountains (in English)

45°56′N 8°32′E / 45.933°N 8.533°E / 45.933; 8.533