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
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