Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AROUND VARESE
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Santa Maria del Monte
The medieval hamlet of Santa Maria del Monte (880m), 8km north of Varese and with a
sanctuary devoted to Our Lady, was long a site of pilgrimage for the faithful. Then, at the
beginning of the 17th century, the Church and Lombardy's Spanish rulers came up with the
idea of creating a sacred way to lead up to this sacred mount,
Sacro Monte del Rosario
( 0332
28 46 24;
www.sacromonte.it
)
, one of a dozen or so built in the 16th and 17th centuries in Lom-
bardy and Piedmont. The result is a cobbled, 2km climb (the starting point is at 585m).
Fourteen chapels dotted along the way are representative of the mysteries of the Rosary
(hence the name). At the end of the climb you can drink in the magnificent views with a
well-deserved beer on the terrace of
Ristorante Monforte
( 0332 22 70 27; Via del Santuario 74;
noon-3pm & 6.30-9pm Wed-Mon)
. The
sacro monte
is inside the Parco Regional Campo dei Fiori,
a patch of thickly wooded hills.
After taking in the views, the hamlet is worth exploring too. Its tight lanes will lead you
to a funicular to get back down, but this operates only on weekends, holidays and daily in
sweltering August. It's also possible to drive up to the back side of the
sacro monte
this
way (but that might be considered cheating). Many folks make the sacrifice of climbing up
in the evening for a romantic evening meal at the
stile liberty
(Italian art nouveau)
Al Bordu-
can
( 0332 22 29 16;
www.borducan.com
; meals €45; 12.30-2pm & 7.30-9.30pm Thu-Tue)
. Inside is a fine
dining room of elegant simplicity, with timber furniture, cream linen and artistic tile floor.
The terrace is great for sipping a wine. Mains tend to be meaty; the homemade tagliatelle in
rabbit stew might tempt you.
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Castiglione Olona
The nondescript modern town of Castiglione Olona, 8km south of Varese off the S road,
contains a quite extraordinary gem. The old centre was largely rebuilt under the auspices of
its most favoured son, Cardinal Branda Castiglioni (1350-1443), in Florentine Renaissance
