Corso Matteotti is regarded as the “drawing room” of Varese with its elegant buildings and a delightful pedestrian area filled with city centre shops. The Basilica of Saint Vittore is also worth a visit, with its famous bell tower and the baptistery of San Giovanni.
The garden city of Varese, has an urban plan all its own due to the fact, unlike other Lombard cities, its heart is not a collection of connected centres, but gradually castles sprung up around it with swathes of green space between them and the centre where, starting in the eighteenth century onwards, beautiful villas surrounded by gardens were built that are still one of the city’s greatest attractions. Among these is the marvellous Villa Menafoglio Litta Panza in Biumo, part of the heritage of the Italian Environment Fund, that hosts a collection of contemporary, African and Pre-Colombian art works, Villa Ponti, with its park and small lake created by a natural spring, Palazzo Estense, which boasts one of the most beautiful eighteenth century gardens in Lombardy, and the Castello Castiglioni Mantezza in Masnago and the Tower of Velate.
The favourite promenade of the inhabitants of Varese on festive days is the one that runs up to the Sacro Monte, located a few kilometres to the north. Along its slopes is a Via Sacra (sacred road) that passes 14 chapels and ends at the hilltop Shrine, where the hamlet of Santa Maria del Monte is located.
In Bisuschio, the Villa Cicogna Mozzoni can be admired. Built in the fifteenth century, it has a huge nineteenth century park in the backside. In Casulzo, there is another FAI property, the Villa della Porta Bozzolo. Lovers of castles will appreciate the Rocca Borromeo in Angera, which overlooks a wide stretch of Lake Maggiore, and the Castelli Viscontei in Cislago, Fagnano and Induno Olona, all privately owned. Visits can be made to the Castello Visconti at San Vito a Somma Lombardo, which is open at weekends from April to September with guided tours. Indeed, Lake Maggiore became the home of the great noble families such as the Borromeo and the Visconti, who erected majestic, imposing castles with Italian style gardens and impregnable fortresses amidst the emerald green of the forests and the deep blue of the sky. . A trip on the lake is an experience not to be missed. Starting from Stresa, with its imposing hotels, the voyage continues towards the Borromeo Islands, incorporating Isola Bella with its Palazzo Borromeo, Isola Madre with its stunning vegetation and Isola dei Pescatori with its characteristic village. Other fine historical monuments that must be seen are the Eremo (Hermitage) di Santa Caterina del Sasso in Leggiuno, perched on top of a rock overlooking the lake. The Chiostro di Voltorre in Gavirate is the home of the Museum of Modern Art. In Busto Arsizio, the church of Santa Maria in Piazza and the Basilica di San Giovanni should not be missed. Saronno boasts the Sanctuario della Beata Vergine dei Miracoli, first built in the 15th century. Its interior decoration features frescos in the apse and the dome of Bernardino Luini (16th century) and Gaudenzio Ferrari (17th century). Among the noteworthy medieval villages is the settlement of Castelseprio with its small church of Santa Maria Foris Portas, and nearby, the Castiglione Olana, a jewel of medieval art also know as the “Tuscan Island of Lombardy,” in that the most important buildings, the Palazzo Branda Castiglioni and the Complesso della Collegiata were decorated with frescos by the greatest Renaissance painters of Tuscany, including Masolino Da Panicate, Paolo Schiavo and the Vacchetta. The village, an ancient Roman fort, was rebuilt in the Middle Ages and later modified in the Renaissance style. The Campo Dei Fiori located between Lake Varese and Val Cuvia, furrowed with little-explored caves and grottos, is very evocative. The best known is the Grotta Marelli with its vast system of tunnels and caverns containing little lakes, and the Grottos of Frassino and Remeron.