The provincial capital of Varese is attractively situated on hills along the southern edge of the Alps near the Lago di Varese, with the Campo dei Fiori looming above it. The town, a center of shoe manufacture, lies some 20km/12mi west of Como and some 50km/31mi northwest of the Lombardian city of Milan.
A rewarding trip is to take the road which runs up from Sant'Ambrogio Olona to the Campo dei Fiori (1,032m/3,406ft; far-ranging views). Continue on foot (20 minutes) to the summit of Monte Tre Croci (1,083m/3,574ft), from where there is a famous view embracing six lakes, the Lombard plain and part of the chain of the Alps.
1.5km/1mile west of the Palazzo Ducale is the Colle dei Campigli (453m/1,495ft), on which are the Kursaal and the Grand Hotel Palace. From the top there are magnificent views of the Lago di Varese and the western Alps, with Monte Rosa.
South of Varese, in the forest near the village of Castelseprio, are the remains of the Lombard fort of Sibrium, with a restored castle. In the adjoining church of Santa Maria Foris Portas (seventh or eighth century) frescoes dating from the seventh resp. eighth-ninth century were exposed in 1944.
A little way west of Varese we come to the Lago di Varese. Near the east end of the lake, above the village of Gazzada, is the Villa Cagnola, bequeathed to the Vatican by Count Cagnola, with valuable furniture and tapestries. From the large park there are magnificent views of the lake and the Alps.
Behind the palace is the Giardino Pubblico (formerly the palace grounds), beautifully laid out in traditional Italian style. In the southern part of the gardens is the Villa Mirabello, in which are the Municipal Museums. Of particular interest are the Museo del Risorgimento, with records of Garibaldi and the movement for a united Italy, and the fine Museo Archeologico, with prehistoric and Roman antiquities, including material from pile dwellings on the Lago di Varese and from Roman tombs.
A short distance west of Piazza Monte Grappa, on the left-hand side of Via Luigi Sacco, the Palazzo Ducale or Palazzo Estense, built for Duke Francesco III of Este in 1766-73 and used as a summer residence until 1780, is now the Town Hall.
The hub of Varese's traffic is the Piazza Monte Grappa, with monumental modern buildings and a tower. From here the main street of Varese, the arcaded Corso Matteotti, leads to the Piazza del Podestà. A little way east stands the church of San Vittore, built in its present form to the design of Pellegrino Tibaldi (1580-1615), with a Neo-Classical facade (1795) and a campanile (1617-1773) 72m/238ft high. Behind it is a baptistery (1185-87).
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