Travel notes in Varese. Weekend in Varese

A trip through the cities of Lombardy allowed me to get from Milan to Varese, see the Estense Palace, churches and other sights of Varese, appreciate the Lombard architecture, find out if shopping is good in Varese; to learn more, read the report about the trip to the north of Italy

I concluded a long time ago how it is more convenient to travel around the cities of Lombardy: the railway communication in the region is well established, and getting where you need to is not difficult. There are, of course, delays and failures, but basically everything goes smoothly. With the help of electric trains, which are very cheap in Italy, I got to Verona and Mantua, Pavia and Como, Cremona and other parts of the Italian north. However, electric trains are not always suitable for traveling around Europe on your own through several countries: train prices in Austria and even more so in Switzerland are completely wild, you can’t travel one hundred and fifty kilometers for ten euros there. In general, to get across the Alps, it is better to rent a car.

I already had a successful car rental experience in different countries, and I arrived at Milan's Linate airport relaxed, completely unprepared for trouble. They, in fact, did not exist at first: after filling out the documents, I took the keys and found the proposed "Fiat" in the parking lot. A careful examination showed that the car did not have any damage, therefore, there is no need to go to the counter with claims, you can sit down and drive. The only thing that I noted as unusual was the strange position of the car, standing in the corner, with its right front wheel almost in the bushes. “Well, in the bushes and in the bushes,” I thought then, “perhaps the parking attendant gaped, so he drove onto the lawn” ...

It was in the dark: late in the evening you can take a car in Milan only at airports, the rental offices scattered around the city close after the day shift, which is why I had to get to Linate. Looking at the night, I did not dare to go and planned an overnight stay near air harbor. It turned out for the best in every way: when I pulled into the hotel parking lot and rubbed myself against the curb, a tire burst.

Front right…

She burst so that she was taken aback - the hole turned out to be such that a finger climbed in without difficulty. It’s scary to think what would happen if this thing happened tomorrow on the freeway ... It seems that the cunning Italians put the Fiat sideways into the bushes for a reason, they probably knew about the defect in the tire ...

Realizing the scale of the problem, I nevertheless tried to calm down and went to bed, postponing negotiations with the distributor until the morning. To the credit of Europcar, they reacted promptly there: I called for technical assistance before breakfast, and before I had time to finish my coffee, the tow truck arrived.

Not to the credit of Europcar, I was charged more than 200 euros for damage to the wheel, including 35 coins was the administrative fee for filing an incident. Yes, if I didn’t take the necessary measures, a punctured tire would cost me more than a weekly car rental, because wheel damage is not considered an insured event, and in any case the deductible would be higher. But before leaving, I figured out to insure the rental car franchise in the office, whose services I used earlier and, having collected the necessary documents after returning, a month later I received the amount paid in Milan back - every last penny, including the administrative fee "Europcar". So the only negative consequence accidents were the hours that were spent filling out paperwork and issuing new car. Because of this, the daily program had to be shortened, leaving only the sights of the city of Varese in it.

However, the impressions from him alone were more than enough for us ...

When archaeologists unearthed the remains of piled houses from time immemorial in the vicinity of Varese, some hotheads among the Lombard patriots hastened to declare that, they say, the city existed already in the third millennium BC. In reality, reliable information regarding Varese as a settlement dates back to the heyday of Etruscan civilization. After the formation of the Roman state, the future Lombardy, then considered Cisalpine Gaul, began to flourish when traffic flows went through it to the lands conquered by the legions of the Celts.

The Middle Ages passed for the inhabitants of Varese under the sign of a permanent confrontation between Como and Milan, who claimed leadership in the region. The city gradually came under the rule of the Visconti dukes, who regarded it as an important stronghold against invasion from behind the Alps. Over time, Varese received the rights of partial self-government, which he briefly lost when the condottiere Facino Cane seized power over the region. But three years later the town's autonomy was fully restored. The reign of the Sforza family was especially successful for Varese: the permission to hold a horse fair made it possible to establish extensive trade relations with Switzerland and Germany.

As often happens, a period of prosperity suddenly gave way to a long decline. Wars severed economic ties, diseases decimated the population, and the city was no longer destined to achieve its former scale of trade. But he gained fame as a center of culture after this region was in the possession of the Duke of Modena Francesco III from the influential family of d "Este. The new owner built a chic palace ensemble with a park on the outskirts of Varese, historical center many new buildings appeared, sometimes very elegant.

Since the sights of Varese are not as popular as in Bergamo or Como, tourists rarely come to the extreme north-west of Lombardy. So a walk around the city will do without guides, crowds and other paraphernalia of group trips. You go to yourself, then, and enjoy the scenery ...

Arriving in the city, we began to look for a place where you can leave the car for free - in the cities of Italy this is a big problem. Fortunately, in this case, it was necessary to pay only for parking in the historical center, and the residential areas surrounding it were located in free zone. However, I had to wander around the area a little in search of a free piece of land, but this issue was resolved quite quickly. Soon we were already walking through the center of Varese.

The first object with which we had a chance to get acquainted was the church del Madonnina, which has a chic baroque facade. Varese tour itinerary starting from railway station, forced to leave this building aside, but in general it is an interesting architectural monument of the last quarter of the 17th century. Sculptures, columns, stucco decoration - everything is in place and very beautiful.

It didn’t take long to go to the next attraction of Varese: after a few minutes, we saw the ensemble of the Basilica of San Vittore, which, in addition to the main building, also included a baptistery and a standing separate bell tower. Unfortunately, the building of the church is too large for the tiny area that it decorates, and it is difficult to fully appreciate the scale of the building. The same applies to the tall tower, stretching almost 80 meters. At the same time, the style of both buildings does not match at all: the tower looks like a separate building. By the way, it is much older than the temple, because scientists have established that the first stones laid in its foundation about a thousand years ago. However, for a number of reasons, construction work was suspended for a long time and the final appearance of the bell tower appeared in the middle of the 17th century. As for the basilica, its first version was built on the site of an ancient pagan sanctuary, and it stood throughout the Middle Ages. When the Renaissance began in Italy, the inhabitants of Varese believed that old church does not adequately show the wealth and importance of the city, so the construction of a larger building was started. The Pellegrino Pellegrini spent most of XVI century and a significant part of the next century. The final point in the design of the Basilica of San Vittore was the design of the neoclassical facade shortly before the start of the era of the Napoleonic Wars. Inside, we were greeted by an outstanding decoration, bright and memorable.

The third part of the ensemble stands a little away from the first two, and if you admire the tower, you can not notice the baptistery on its rear at all. And he, by the way, is an ancient building, keeping traces of Romanesque architecture. Its interiors are also interesting: looking into the Lombardy guide, I found out that under the arches of the baptistery you can see ancient frescoes depicting biblical events.

We managed to enjoy the beautiful ensemble just in time: as soon as I unfolded the map in order to understand where it was better to move on, a crowd of informal youth burst into the square, immediately starting to take selfies with antics. In general, we deftly slipped away from the planned coven of lovers of the "muzzle book" and through the old arch went to the Podesta Square. An animated trade route, and Corso Giacomo Matteotti is teeming with shoppers. By mutual agreement, we decided to leave the shops for later, but for now, to see the sights of Varese. It turned out that right in front of us stands the Pretorio Palace, the city administration has been sitting for more than three hundred years. The building, built in 1572, has retained the original interior layout, but the façade was rebuilt about a hundred and fifty years ago.

In front of the palazzo, as in many Italian cities, there is a monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi, a man who made a truly invaluable contribution to the liberation of the country from the rule of the Austrians. Here the monument is especially relevant, since in 1859 an important battle of the Garibaldi Bersaliers with the troops of the invaders took place near the city.

Cafe tables were set up on the square itself, and had we had more time, we would not have failed to sit at one of them. However, we were called by the sights of Varese, and I wanted to move along Corso Giacomo Matteotti to the south, as it turned out that the local tourist office was located very close to us. It was a sin not to go there, and soon I became the owner of several maps of different scales and a booklet describing everything that can be seen in Varese.

I spent no more than five minutes on everything about everything, and when I returned to my starting position, it turned out that my half had already managed to go to a shoe store and try on shoes there. I had to spend some time negotiating with sellers and swearing to allocate time for shopping in Varese.

Now our goal was the Palace of the Dukes d "Este, but we did not get to it directly: at first, the main shopping street led us to Monte Grappa Square. Several major roads converge on it at once, and therefore this place is very busy. The local ensemble was formed in 1930 - years and became a typical product of the era of fascist monumentalism.Personally, I did not really like the surrounding buildings, here is a fountain arranged in the center open space I appreciated.

We should have gone from there to the northwest, to the palace, but I first decided to inspect the church of San Giuseppe, although in the other direction, not far away. The building turned out to be quite worthy, decorated in the Baroque style. The townspeople started its construction at the beginning of the 16th century and the work continued almost until the end of the century. The baroque façade was added much later.

So, having shot the appropriate shots of another Varese landmark, I, studying the map, found that a couple of blocks from us on Piazza della Motta stands the Basilica of St. Anthony. Remembering how solid the Basilica of San Vittore looked in the city center, I took a southwesterly course.

In fact, the building to which the navigator led us turned out to be ordinary, not worth a separate visit. Yes, the guide to Lombardy touted it unique frescoes, however, we could not get inside, and from the outside the temple looked more than modest.

Since we were brought under the very fence of Giadini Estense, it was a sin to give a circle to approach the count's residence from the main entrance. And we climbed up the hillside - Villa Mirabello served as a guide for us. The gardens of Estense are only listed as such, and when imagining them, it is better to keep Fontainebleau or Tsarskoye Selo in mind than some Moscow garden. The spaces there are hoo, and the views are stunning in places. If we started the tour from the side of the palace, our impressions would probably be different from those of most tourists. We first got an idea of ​​the size of the estate, and only later went to the front part of the park.

Estense Palace grew out of a merchant's mansion - when Duke Francesco d'Este, who ruled Lombardy on behalf of the Vienna court, decided to set up his summer residence in Varese, he bought the building and ordered it to be thoroughly expanded. The result of the work that took place from 1766 to 1771 under the guidance of an architect Giuseppe Bianchi, became a luxurious ensemble in the Baroque style. A little later, a regular park was laid out in front of the facade of the palace; the area around Schönbrunn was used as a model. It turned out to be extremely cool, and, once on one of the hillocks, we could not take our eyes off the panorama ...

Now the Estense Palace is occupied by officials of the city administration, who in the second half of the 19th century replaced their traditional residence in the Palazzo Podesta with brighter interiors. Judging by the photographs, the interiors there are really bright ... It seems like you can even see them during the tour, but I cannot vouch for the reliability of this information. One way or another, the time was already late, and the doors of the most valuable sights of Varese were closed.

Then a walk through the city center took us to piazza Carducci, which the guide recommended to visit, mentioning it in the list of places to see in Varese. Personally, I didn't like the square, nor did I like the Church of San Martino a block further east. However, it turned out to be one of the oldest buildings in the city, erected in the first half of the 13th century. The facade, however, was created later, already in the New Age, decorating it with a portal framed with decorative elements. Yet the addition did not embellish the temple enough to make it look attractive.

We did not go to the last attraction in Varese, the church of San Giorgio. Instead, we got to enjoy shopping. Yes, yes, I also got a generous portion of pleasure, because while my half was inspecting stores, I managed to shoot a lot of balconies, flower beds and other seemingly small details in the city center that form the impression of development.

When it was time to meet, it turned out that the light of my eyes was going to hang on me as many as three boxes of shoes. “The block is too good, and the prices are reasonable” - such was her summary in response to my astonished look. It’s good that the car was nearby, and it didn’t take long to get good ...

In a word, shopping in Varese turned out to be fruitful, at least when it comes to buying Italian shoes. Local attractions also pleased, at least central Street, the Estense Palace and the San Vittore Ensemble have earned rave reviews.

In theory, it would be necessary to complete the picture of the day by visiting the villas of aristocrats scattered around the city, however, due to a stupid morning incident, there was no time left for such a voyage: we still had to cross the Alps.

When the moment came to part with Lombardy, I thought that the north of Italy this time pleased us with good weather and glorious views. It is, of course, Italian lakes they look chic, but small towns are also good in their own way ...

A picturesque province that attracts travelers with magnificent alpine valleys and mountain lakes. The resort offers its guests many walking routes, many of which are designed for several days. It will be interesting here for both climbers and ordinary travelers who are not indifferent to the wonderful corners of nature. You can walk through untouched forests, visit the shores of the most beautiful mountain lakes and see endless valleys that look like fragments from fairy tales.

The city is not deprived and cultural property, among which the Esteneze Palace can be distinguished, the sanctuary of Sacro Monte is also located here, from where the "procession" originates. It ends at the foot of the hill where the church of Santa Maria del Monte is located. These religious monuments are considered the most valuable in the country, every year thousands of pilgrims come to them who want to bow to the great shrines.

Not far from the church there is a small picturesque village in which quaint medieval buildings have survived to this day. Walking along the narrow streets, you can look into the shops and buy memorable souvenirs - the work of local craftsmen. Copyright www.site

The city has several beautiful villas, each of which has its own cultural significance. Eg, Villa Villa Mirabello has become the location archaeological museum, which also houses a collection of paintings by Italian painters. An even richer collection of paintings is kept in the museum located in Villa Menafoglio Litta Panza. Sports lovers should go to golf courses, of which there are 7 in the vicinity of the city, there is also a hippodrome where you can learn horseback riding, several basketball courts. If you want to do water sports sports, you can go to Lake Varese, where races are held on yachts and boats.

In the very center of the city is one of its main historical symbols - palace and park complex Estense. beautiful palace impresses with its scale; over the years of its existence, it has almost completely preserved the original facade decoration. Today it is a vivid example of the Baroque style - the most spectacular architectural monument this style in the city. A walk in the park can also be exciting excursion, ancient sculptures, many beautiful fountains and pools have been preserved on its territory.

Among the religious sights it is worth highlighting the Basilica of San Vittore. Its construction began at the end of the 16th century and lasted more than 150 years. Today, several chapels have survived near the basilica, they were built in different periods. The basilica is a unique monument from an architectural point of view, it surprisingly combines elements of various architectural styles.

The bell tower of the basilica is usually considered as a separate attraction, its height is 77 meters. At the time of construction, it was the most tall building in the city, they worked on the project of the basilica famous architects Bernascone and Pellegrini. Today, it attracts guests of Varese not only with its impressive height, but also with its luxurious decoration. The best artists of Lombardy worked on the design of the bell tower.

Villa Recalcati is considered one of the most spectacular architectural monuments. In the 19th century, it belonged to the noble Morosini family, one of the richest families in the city. At the end of the 19th century, the family had financial difficulties, so the rooms of the luxurious villa began to be rented out. Many celebrities have stayed within its walls, including the famous actress Eleonora Duse. Today, the luxurious villa belongs to government agencies, and some of its halls are used for art exhibitions.

For some reason, we decided that we now have a family tradition. About 1 month before the celebration of the year of the next child, we are going to Italy. The last time we made a tour, the three of us, Peresvet was the hero of the occasion. This time the fourth musketeer D'emyan joined us. We decided to replace the last gallop-style visit to Europe with something more measured and calm. But already on the first day we were squeezed like a lemon.

Unbearable Demyan

Over time, you understand how well Peresvet behaves, because against the background of Dema, he is just an angel. The flight took place in a relatively calm atmosphere. Why relatively? Because Dyoma did not yell as much as we all thought, and Peresvet was just an example to follow. No one expected such maturity from him, our boy is growing. By the end of the day, he was already taking off his shoes and taking off his jacket completely on his own. It's time to take a closer look at the remaining childish features, the boy is maturing.

But Dyoma patted us for the whole day from the heart. This is a kid who backs up his every protest action with a select yell and squeal. Moreover, the tonality of these sounds is so piercing and high that in our friendly team we call him “pterodactyl”, since Peresvet is already perfectly familiar with varieties of extinct prehistoric giant lizards.

Difficult road to Varese

A small town in northern Italy was destined to become the starting point of our next mini-trip. And the pancake came out funny. And here I want to give myself advice for the future:

1. If you undertook to lay a route, then do it to the very last detail or detail.
2. Don't skimp on transport.

The exit from the airport, according to the classics, turns into a quest, this time the level was simpler. It turns out that strollers are issued separately from the main luggage. True, only a dark-haired loader shared such valuable information with us. And then our route consisted of a train ride to the Busto Arsizio station, from where another train was supposed to go to Varese. The reality turned out to be much more mysterious, it turns out the station of the same name, from where you could get to Varese, was 2.5 km away. We overcame this distance as a brave sports team, losing only one fighter in the course of movement. Peresvet, who already stood out for his extreme restraint, obedience and efficiency, was simply tired and groaned halfway through that he could no longer go. We do not leave our own, wounded on the shoulder and forward to the station.

But I'll be honest, this march completely deprived us of strength, but there was good news Dema fell asleep. But after the good news, the bad news came - Dyoma quickly woke up. This meant that on the train to Varese we would be accompanied by a wild or hungry and tired baby. So it was. They didn’t even check our tickets, our unenviable position was noted from the side with the naked eye.

There was simply no strength and emotion to get to our hotel, located on the outskirts of the town, by bus. We catch a taxi and follow to the hotel under interesting story about a passenger from the Far East.

serene day

As expected, the next day began much more calmly. Although it would hardly be considered such a day when you get up at 5 am, and breakfast is accompanied by protest movements of both of our young companions.

But, having gathered our legs in our hands and our will into a fist, we set off to conquer the mountain of Sacro Monte, which is an impressive center of the Catholic heritage of Italy. Without going into much detail, it is worth noting the presence here of 12 memorial chapels located along the slope of the mountain. And at the top is a church surrounded by commemorative signs about the popes of different generations. I was particularly impressed by the monument to Paul VI, at whose feet, in addition to lambs, there was a human skull. And the palms of the hands of this bronze Paul were so disproportionately huge in comparison with the rest of the body that, willy-nilly, you decide to find out in more detail the history of the creation of this creation and at the same time the biography of a religious figure.

Walking along the classic Italian stone paths, I practiced with a bang in hiking with an overweight stroller. Especially when it was required to climb up super-uncomfortable stairs. And only at the very end we found the presence of elevators. But with them, our walking promenade would be quite boring. Plus, we finally managed to taste good Italian coffee with excellent grounds in the sediment. It is hard to imagine that for this it was necessary to climb the Sacro Monte di Varese, because even on our last visit we did not manage to taste a good coffee drink.

The main failure of our today's ascent was idle funiculars. Only from March 18, tourists and locals should again have the opportunity to contemplate the beauties of the pre-Alpine nature with their own eyes. Although in Bergamo, a similar attraction as a whole impressed me a little. What can not be said about the visible snowy alpine heights. As Peresvet says: "Beauties!" General mountain scenery northern Italy impress with incredible power, even inspire to a certain extent. But physical fatigue often blocks any inspiration into the background.

The descent back was accompanied by our desire to just walk along the streets, because we were not going to see anything supernatural. Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise to find in the city a very pleasant and cozy park Villas Mirabello, where the eponymous Art Gallery. Although, frankly, the pleasantness of this surprise was added by the fact that both children, having inhaled the purest mountain air fell asleep. And Natasha and I enjoyed a rare calm. Sitting on the sunny side opposite a small pond with live swans, we tasted real pleasure.

Varese Calcio Football School

On the way to the hotel, we decided to study in detail the nearby football fields. Moreover, before the trip, I diligently studied the local leagues. As it turned out, right under our noses we had the football school of the local club Varese, where boys of various ages train.

The gradation of groups of boys seemed interesting: some were sent to kick the ball on an unkempt field, others were taken in the company of the coaching staff to the playground for adults with placed chips; and the third group worked out to the music, which is why the dynamics of the exercises instantly increased. The division was carried out not depending on this or that mentor, but on the basis of the skills of the guys. At the same time, even the most oak proudly wear a red uniform and feel part of a single whole called FC Varese.

Travel notes in Varese

Each visit to a new place necessarily gives a set of important rules that will certainly come in handy when visiting these places again.

1. When traveling in buses, be sure to have some change with you, otherwise no one will give you change. We purchased tickets directly in transport, for which a special machine is intended. It has an option to return extra money, but never in all the trips has the machine been so kind as to give me the euro cents due.
2. Ticket for ground transport valid for 90 minutes, so when transferring from one bus to another, you do not need to buy a ticket again. Unfortunately, we did not immediately understand this.
3. To get to Sacro Monte, you need to take bus C to get to the end and there transfer to another bus that goes to the very top. The good thing is that locals that the bus drivers took care of us like family, showing us what and when to leave, and how to survive in these fierce conditions when the machine does not give you change. The road to the mountain itself is incredibly picturesque and atmospheric. Unfortunately, it was not possible to ride through the tunnel, it was created for those who want to ride the funicular. We missed this show.
4. You need to be careful about the offers on Orbitz from the Ibis hotel. Apartments in the picture and in real life are simply striking. For example, our room stands out from the usual one in that one of the cabinets housed the so-called kitchen area. This miracle of nature was not photographed in vain, because it is difficult to convey in words general impressions from disappointment.
5. All the most interesting sights of Varese are not in Varese. You need to boldly rush uphill, explore parks and lakes, because the beauties of the city end in memorable and wonderful, but still modest beauties. But from this, Varese does not lose its coziness and regularity.
6. Even in such a small and frankly provincial town there is a Foot Locker store, there are excellent discounts on shoes, including children's. True, there are models that are already cheaper to buy in Russia.
7. For the people of Varese, we are officially Germans. Apparently, Russian tourists are very rare here.
8. We had an incredibly tasty lunch at a Muslim pizzeria. Nothing else worked in the district, so they no longer puzzled and went to cubby, in which, as a result, they not only fed deliciously, but also cooked up some kind of mega-tasty vegan soup with spices for me. They don't even have soups on the menu. In this institution, we were also mistaken for Germans. Blonde children confuse people.

The short stay in Varese has two sides of the same coin: firstly, we did not like the hotel much, and we frankly lost half of our first day of stay, although there were certain plans, so we were in a hurry to change our place of residence, which coincided with the change of location ; secondly, we didn’t really have time to really appreciate the city, see other sights, and didn’t even get to the lake, and the weather on the second day was beautiful - we had to use it.

On the way back from Lugano to Milan, we decided to stop by the city of Varese. To do this, I had to leave the motorway, so I managed not only to see new places, but also to save money :).
Varese was very pleasant and beautiful city. In general, when compiling this report, I got into the Internet to look for descriptions of attractions, and found that the information is extremely scarce. All Italian travel sites copy-paste the same phrase about the Palazzo Estenese, the meaning of which is not entirely clear. I had to re-read a bunch of sites until a more or less clear picture was created.
So yes.
The city is located next to the lake of the same name, in the province of Varese, Lombardy region.
There are several attractions.
Firstly, it is Sacro Monte, the Holy Mountain, a religious complex located in the Alpine hills near the city, the place where Catholic pilgrim pilgrims make their procession.

Photo taken from here: http://mir.travel/sights/90685#90685/?impid=11795 .
But we only learned about this attraction when we returned to Moscow, so we don’t have our photos of this place. If you wish, you can easily find them on the Internet.
Secondly, it is Palazzo Estense or the Estenese Palace, built in the Baroque style. When it was built in 1771-1776, it was the outskirts of the city, now almost the center.



It was built for Francesco III d "Este, Duke of Modena. In front of the palace there is a very beautiful and well-groomed park, it was created in the image and likeness of the park of the Vienna residence of the Austrian emperors Schönbrunn.

Bust of the second king of Italy, Umberto I.

Fountain in the park.


We pass through the park and climb the mountain.


The higher you climb the hillside, the prettier view. The city is visible in the distance.


After seeing the palace, we went to the city.
Streets are typical for most Italian cities this size.

In general, small cozy town with the measured life of its inhabitants.

Varese is an old town in Italian region Lombardy, located on the border with Switzerland north of Milan. Administrative center province of the same name. It stands on the shores of Lake Varese and specializes in the production of shoes.

The first mention of Varese dates back to 922. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the counts of Lavagna ruled here, and at the end of the 14th century, Varese was bought out by the Genoese ruler Antoniotto Adorno. Later, the history of the town was closely intertwined with the fate of the Republic of Genoa. In 1766, by order of Empress Maria Theresa, the city became the property of Francesco III d'Este. In the middle of the 19th century, a battle took place in the vicinity of Varese, during which Garibaldi defeated the Habsburg troops. And after joining Italy, the city became a favorite place summer holiday among the inhabitants of northern Italy.

Despite the fact that during the reign of Mussolini, Varese was significantly rebuilt, the city has preserved monuments of history and architecture. For example, the Basilica of San Vittore, built in 1580-1615, is notable for its baroque bell tower and paintings by Lombard artists. The palace-villa of Francesco d'Este with a magnificent park of the 18th century deserves attention. And not far from Varese there are mountain chapels of the 17th century, in 2003 included in the list of objects of the World cultural heritage UNESCO - they have long attracted pilgrims. The chapels are located in the Campo dei Fiori park. In addition, Varese has a lot interesting museums- archaeological, prehistoric museum Ponti, Museum of Modern Art, Poliagy House Museum, etc.