BAVENO

baveno, a town of piedmont, italy, in the province of novara, on the west shore of lago maggiore, 13 m. n.n.w. of arona by rail. pop. (1901) 2502. it is much frequented as a resort in spring, summer and autumn, and has many beautiful villas. to the north-west are the famous red granite quarries, which have supplied the columns for the cathedral of milan, the church of s. paolo fuori le mura at rome, the galleria vittorio emanuele at milan, and other important buildings. bawbee (of very doubtful origin, the most plausible conjecture being that the word is a corruption from the name of the mint master sillebawby, by whom they were first issued, c. 1541), the scottish name for a halfpenny or other small coin, and hence used of money generally. a writer in 1573, quoted in tytler's _history of scotland_, speaks of "a coin called a bawbee, ... which is in value english one penny and a quarter." the word was sometimes written "babie," and has therefore been identified merely with a "baby coin," but this etymology is less probable.