Villages in the province of Varese that are worth visiting

Slow and proximity tourism. You have probably heard of it in recent times, because it represents a real trend, in strong growth also due to force majeure.

Italians (and not only) have thus rediscovered the beauty of small villages outside the city, of trips out of town, often far from the usual tourist routes, but which guarantee weekends or weeks of authentic well-being. There are many villages in the province of Varese with their cards in order to become tourist destinations of absolute interest. Let's find out together.

SACRED MOUNT OF VARESE

When it comes to villages in the province of Varese that are worth visiting, it is impossible not to remember the Borgo del Sacro Monte, that is the set of houses that over the years have been built around the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Monte, one of the nine Sacred Mountains of Piedmont. and Lombardy included in the UNESCO world heritage sites since 2003.

Its cobbled streets offer breathtaking views, as well as the view that is free to get lost between the mountains and Lake Varese, as well as on the homonymous city. And if the charm of the liberty villas that characterize the village makes you daydream, know that at Engel & Völkers  we have the solutions for you.

GAVIRATE

Lake Varese is an authentic pearl, and Gavirate can be considered to all intents and purposes the most active tourist lake center. It is no coincidence that the lake once bore his name, proving the importance of this village.

Beyond the romantic lakefront, ideal for pleasant hiking or mountain biking excursions, it is worthwhile to linger over the historic center, full of 17th-18th century buildings. Throughout the municipal area - divided into four hamlets - it will then be fun to discover the different wash houses, each with its own characteristics, once used to wash clothes.

Finally, Gavirate hosts the internationally known Pipe Museum, where you can admire the pipes of famous people, as well as finds from over 3,000 years ago.

And if you are looking for houses for sale in Gavirate, we advise you to deepen with one of our latest insights.

MUSTONATE

Those looking for an immersion in nature must absolutely visit the small village of Mustonate, a few kilometers from Varese and with a splendid view of the lake. It is an extraordinary example of the recovery of an agricultural area long abandoned. Today it is a very suggestive neorural village, surrounded by 60 hectares of meadows, woods and orchards. At your disposal, you will find a resort, a restaurant, a tavern for tastings of typical local products, but also the possibility of doing various outdoor sports activities, as well as a modern riding school.

CASTIGLIONE OLONA

“A Tuscan island in Lombardy”. Thus Gabriele D'Annunzio renamed this village halfway between Lake Como and Lake Varese, crossed by the Olona river.

The reason? The color of the houses, in red brick, but also because it was built according to the Tuscan urban canons of the Renaissance. The village offers numerous architectural and cultural works, such as the Collegiate Church and the Baptistery, where you can admire the fifteenth-century frescoes by Masolino da Panicale.

Space then for a visit to the MAP Plastic Art Museum, housed in the fourteenth-century Palazzo dei Castiglioni in Monteruzzo and dedicated to plastics and their aesthetic potential. Every first Sunday of the month the Cardinal's Fair takes place, while in July the Palio dei Castelli is celebrated.

TORNAVENTO

In 2019 the Varesenews website launched a contest among its readers to decree the most beautiful village in the Varese area. The win was the town of Tornavento, a fraction of Lonato Pozzolo, which excelled in the finalist five, which also included the villages of Masciago Primo, Castello Cabiaglio, Arcumeggia and Cerro di Laveno.

Tornavento is a place of objective beauty, whose belvedere, in Piazza Parravicino, offers a priceless view of the Ticino valley framed by the Alps. If Monte Rosa is visible very often, on clear days it will also be possible to see the unmistakable silhouette of the Monviso.

VALGANNA

If Varese is famous for its lakes, among the villages in the province of Varese we cannot overlook Valganna, a small scattered municipality whose two main centers - Ghirla and Ganna (seat of the municipality) rise respectively on the shores of Lake Ghirla and Ganna lake.

The second is the most famous tourist destination, but we invite you to discover the first: it is an authentic natural oasis, to be explored on a beautiful day of trekking to discover its flora. A second stop will then be at the abbey of San Gemolo, a Romanesque complex in which the Lombard-style church and the Lombard-Romanesque pentagonal cloister stand out, an authentic oasis of spirituality.

GORNATE OLONA

We close this roundup of the most beautiful villages in the province of Varese by taking a trip to Gornate Olona, ​​where you will encounter a FAI property such as the Monastery of Torba, a Lombard monumental complex, now part of an archaeological park which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After being a defensive stronghold for centuries, Torba became a religious center in the eighth century, with the settlement of a group of Benedictine nuns. Today it lives again also in the light of the continuous finds of the Lombard age, and is one of the stages of the Via Francisca del Lucomagno, a path that starts from Switzerland (Costanza) and ends after 135 km in Pavia.

Did this article encourage you to look for a house in one of the villages in the province of Varese? For a wide selection of independent houses in Varese and its province, please contact us.