The
marvelous Varenna located on the eastern branch of the Lario in
front of the extraordinary Bellagio in the province of Lecco in a
fairytale territory where waters, mountains, nature and magnificent landscapes
are a stupendous blend enchanting every visitor at first sight.
This
center considered the shimmering Lake
Como diamond apart its unique, scenic beauty boasts a centuries-old history
originally born as a fishing village in 769, a faithful ally of the
Duchy of Milan and devastated in 1126 by Como troops during that long war
conflict that saw the Larian City facing the enemy Sforza and Visconti
Dynasties for the dominion of that corner of Lombardy.
I
recommend starting the visit from Villa Monastero which, as the name
suggests, was the seat of a Cistercian female monastery founded in the
twelfth century, a monastic order then suppressed becoming the home of a
family from Valsassina called Mornico at the beginning of the seventeenth
century.
In this
historical stage the building underwent the first structural changes and later
changed into an attractive eclectic style of Nordic architecture between 1897
and 1909 at the behest of the owner at the time, a wealthy German citizen
of Leipzig called Walter Kees.
This
beautiful residence consisting of 14 rooms elegantly furnished in the
taste of the old owners now hosts important cultural and scientific events.
The villa
boasts a Botanical Garden with lush flora that extends for about 2.0
kilometers containing exotic but also native trees.
With the
magnificent views of the Lario you can head towards the bewitching historic
center reaching the main square where there are some historical gems of
Varenna such as the beautiful Church of San Giovanni Battista, a Romanesque
masterpiece of the eleventh century, one of the oldest religious
buildings in the entire Larian basin.
Built on
a rectangular plan with a nave, the interior shows perfect architectural lines
of that period with sinuous vaults and a beautiful polychrome apse with a
Baroque altar, columns from Villa Monastero, images of three Angels inserted in
the tympanum and in a niche a beautiful wooden statue of the Virgin Mary with
Child.
Continuation
with the beautiful Church of San Giorgio dated the 13th century built
on a small religious building erected a century earlier which shows in its
layout the typical Lombard Romanesque with the use of gray stone and a massive
structural profile.
The
rectangular plan without transept develops in three naves with the side aisles
supported by conical corbels, i.e. elements that apart from being decorative
support arches and vaults.
In the
center of the façade there is a magnificent medieval fresco depicting St.
Christopher, supreme protector of ferries, painted in the 14th
century, and an oculus protected by a glass section.
The
imposing bell tower raised on a quadrangular plan is another sublime
highlight boasting a beautiful circular clock with Roman numerals and a
wonderful, long conical spire that crowns the top.
Afterwards
you can visit the interior full of works of art of enormous value admiring a
painting dated 1533 depicting the Baptism of Jesus executed by a
local artist, Sigismondo De Magistris, another starring a gigantic
Beelzebub devouring souls located in the counter-façade.
Other
highlights are various frescoes decorating the chapels, beautiful marble
columns and a fabulous triptych in a chapel on the right side with the Virgin
Mary, Christ Child and Saints Martin and George attributed to a painter
with the stage name Sodom , a rather unusual nickname for an artist who
painted such a work in a sacred place.
The
ecclesiastical complex of San Giorgio also houses two small oratories
dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua and St. Mary Magdalene.
On the
right side of the square is the Museum of Ornithology created in 1962
by the famous ornithologist Luigi Scanagatta, also an expert in
botany, an exhibition that contains various rare specimens, a section dedicated
to the species of birds that populate the Lario and a very rich Library
accompanied by over 1500 volumes concentrated on studies of botany,
zoology and ornithology.
The
magnificent historic center of Varenna is characterized by a mosaic of
cobbled alleys flanked by splendid renovated houses and suggestive stairways,
intersecting between the districts of the village including the attractive Contrada
dei Pescatori linked to the inhabitants dedicated to fishing and that of
the Torchio with clear reference to the grinding of agricultural and
port products for navigation on
Lake Como.
Continuation with the famous marble
workers' shore and then along the magnificent, romantic Via dell' Amore,
suggestive walkway suspended over the waters connecting the two piers
that is the ancient port and the new Olivedo pier in the presence
of the elegant former Villa Venini now called Villa Sozzi, known
for having hosted famous Vicenza writerAntonio Fogazzaro.
On a
magnificent hill there is the wonderful Villa Cipressi noble residence
developed between 1400 and 1800, today a well-known hotel that boasts a
botanical garden that can be visited from March to October, the structure
surrounded by picturesque cypresses sometimes gives the impression of being in
the heart of the extraordinary Tuscany.
Time for
your lunch, I recommend staying in the traditional, local among the first
courses Tagliolini with Ham and Cream or Risotto with Perch, second
courses to choose between Grilled Varello with Mixed Salad or Veal
Fillet with Aromatic Herbs with a side of Browned Potato Flakes with Butter and
Rosemary.
After
lunch I recommend reaching a fascinating and in its own way mysterious place,
namely the descent of the Latte river immediately south of the center of
Varenna, known for being the shortest Italian river with its 250.0 meters.
This very
short tributary of the Lario has its source in the mountain group of the
imposing Grigne and descends not far from the remains of the Castle
of Vezio located on a rugged promontory of the picturesque Val D' Esino
and from the houses perched on the slopes of the 1033.0 meters of the
suggestive Monte Fopp.
The name
derives from the waters of a very clear white similar in tone to milk, a unique
natural phenomenon as it is visible only from March 25th, the day that
corresponds to the Feast of the village in honor of the Annunciation until
October 7th, the date in which the Madonna del Rosario, patron saint
of Varenna, is celebrated.
This
intermittency and precise dates have fueled legends, narratives, some connected
to the descriptions of the Roman writer Pliny the Elder and the
Academician Lazzaro Spallanzani who studied it and also the great Leonardo
da Vinci was intrigued by this spectacle of nature, visiting it and
mentioning it with the nickname Fiumelaccio in the famous Codex
Atlanticus.
Visiting
Varenna means admiring one of the bewitching and unique beauties of that
natural jewel called Lake Como, a unique tourism experience to be remembered
perpetually in your best memories.
Link : https://varennaturismo.com/en/
Where
to Stay | Recommeded Accommodation
Hotel
Villa Cipressi by R Collection Hotels
Hotel
Royal Victoria by R Collection Hotels
Hotel
Olivedo
