A full-day country and lakeside drive from Varese, nudging the Swiss border on Lake Lugano. A tour of Villa Panza’s contemporary art collection is followed by a visit to Varese’s nature reserve, then lunch in Luino on Lake Maggiore and a scenic drive along the shores of Lake Lugano.
DISTANCE: 85km (53 miles)
TIME: A full day
START/END: Varese
POINTS TO NOTE: Note that Villa Cicogna-Mozzoni is open only on Sundays and national holidays from April to October. Another option is to make this day trip on a Wednesday when Luino holds its market Il Mercato di Luino (until 5pm); one of the biggest in Italy, it sells food, clothes, leather, textiles, household goods, etc. It is a good idea to bring your passport in case you are tempted to visit Switzerland.
Begin in the city of Varese. Essentially a modern industrial city, Varese has styled itself as a Città Giardino, or Garden City. It also has a small historic centre, as well as sophisticated shopping – it is Italy’s shoe-making capital.
Sacro Monte di Varese in winter
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Villa Panza
Varese’s top cultural attraction is Villa Panza, which houses a major collection of modern American art. From the centre of Varese head north along Via Veratti, which becomes Viale Aguggiari. Villa Panza 1 [map] (www.fondoambiente.it; last entry 45 mins before closing; may be closed on holidays; charge) is signposted to the right after about 1km (0.75 mile) from the city centre. Count Giuseppe Panza, the last owner of this frescoed 18th-century mansion, donated it to the nation in 1996. The interior is enhanced by an outstanding collection of abstract American art dating from the 1950s and strong on work from the 1980s and 1990s.
Classical versus contemporary
Rather than disperse his eclectic collection among his five sons, Panza left it to the Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano (FAI), the Italian equivalent of the National Trust. As both a listed monument and an art gallery, the villa appeals to both lovers of contemporary art and fans of classical architecture. The former will appreciate the abstract tonal canvases, rooms bathed in brash neon light, bizarre installations and ceilings exposed to the elements. Classicists will admire the old Tuscan chests, Empire-style dining room and magnificent ballroom hung with chandeliers and subdued abstracts. There is also a fine collection of African and pre-Columbian art.
Farmer’s market in Varese
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Varese and Lake Lugano
Lake Varese
Shaped like a battered boot, Lago di Varese is a small lake lying west of Varese. It is a gentle, unremarkable lake framed by rolling hills. From Biandronno on the western shore, you can cross to a tiny, wooded island, Isolino Virginia, which has a restaurant and the remains of prehistoric pile-dwellings.
If the weather allows, consider making a short visit to the Sacro Monte di Varese (Holy Mount of Varese) and the Parco Regionale di Campo dei Fiori. From Villa Panza return to Viale Arguggiari and head north along the same road for about 6km (3.75 miles), following the signs to Sacro Monte and Campo dei Fiori. A winding road climbs through the heart of Varese’s villa zone, where the hills are dotted with belle époque and Art Nouveau concoctions perched on grassy knolls.
Varese, ‘City of Gardens’
Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications
The Sacro Monte di Varese 2 [map] is a major pilgrimage site on the wooded slopes of Monte Campo dei Fiori. Along the steep Via Sacra are fourteen devotional shrines with life-size terracotta figures and frescoes. From the Santuario di Santa Maria del Monte, and its village at the top, there are vertiginous views down over Lake Varese.
If you are in need of refreshment, stop for a drink and snack on the terrace of the Al Borducan Ristorante Romantico (as long as you don’t have children with you) see 1 [map], near the Sacro Monte.
Campo dei Fiori Regional Park
Continue another 5km (3 miles) beyond Santa Maria del Monte to the Parco Regionale di Campo dei Fiori 3 [map] (www.parcocampodeifiori.it; free) with six nature reserves and sixteen marked trails. Almost at the top of the Campo dei Fiori mountain (1,226m/4,022ft) sits the G.V. Schiaparelli astronomical observatory, conceived by Salvatore Furia, who defused and detonated thousands of unexploded mines to build the road to the reserve.
From the park, retrace your route, pass the Sacro Monte and take the first road on the left to join the SS233 to Ponte Tresa 4 [map] on Lake Lugano (27km/16.75 miles). The lake, which zigzags across the Swiss border, is wilder and less majestic than Lake Maggiore. Just over a third of the shoreline belongs to Italy, the rest to the Italian-speaking Swiss canton of Ticino. Steep wooded mountains rising sheer from the water preclude development along most of the shoreline. Lugano is the only large town.
Lake Lugano
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Ponte Tresa is a steamer stop and border village, packed at rush hour with Italian commuters travelling to and from Lugano. More peaceful and picturesque is the village of Lavena, set on a headland a couple of kilometres (1.25 miles) to the southeast.
Lunch in Luino
From Ponte Tresa, head west on the SP61 to Luino 5 [map] on Lake Maggiore. You could stop here for a lakeside stroll and lunch, or take the lakeshore road 2km (1.25 miles) north to Colmegna for lunch at the Relais Villa Porta see 2 [map]. Encircled by woods, Luino was once a centre for smugglers, whose contraband coffee and cigarettes would pass between Switzerland and Italy as market forces dictated.
Porto Ceresio
After lunch head back to Ponte Tresa and follow the shore of Lake Lugano as far as Porto Ceresio 6 [map] (10km/6.25 miles), one of the most scenic drives in the province of Varese. A pretty Italian outpost, Porto Ceresio centres on an elegant harbour framed by steep shores. The name Porto Ceresio comes from the Latin name for Lake Lugano – Ceresio – which is still used by Italians.
If time permits, consider a ferry crossing from the Italian port to its Swiss rival across the water. The picturesque village of Morcote is set on the tip of the peninsula that runs down the lake towards Italy. Known as the ‘pearl of Lake Lugano’, it has a maze of alleys and is dominated by a medieval church.
Campo dei Fiori in autumn
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1 [map] Al Borducan Ristorante Romantico
Hotel Borducan, Via Beata Caterina Moriggi 43, www.ristoranteborducan.com
In an atmospheric Art Nouveau hotel restricted to couples only, this restaurant is famous for the Elixir Al Borducan that is also used to enhance historic recipes. Food is prepared according to the Bregonzio family tradition. Cuisine is inspired by seasonal ingredients, scents, and spices. From their terrace you can enjoy the view of the lakes as well as the massif of Campo dei Fiori, and a private garden. €€€
2 [map] Relais Villa Porta
Via A. Palazzi 1, Colmegna (2km/1.25 miles north of Luino), www.relaisvillaporta.com
The hotel’s two terraces overlook Lake Maggiore, which provides the ingredients for dishes such as carp in sweet and sour sauce and perch with tagliatelle. The villa was built in the early 18th century as part of a hunting estate and retains a large park with trails and a waterfall. €€€€
3 [map] Hotel Bologna
Via Broggi 7, Varese, www.albergobologna.it
This popular hotel restaurant in Varese’s historic centre offers hearty helpings of hams and salamis, fresh pastas, steaks, fish and creamy desserts. Booking essential. €€
From Porto Ceresio, take the SS344 south to Varese, stopping after 5km (3 miles) at Bisuschio to visit Villa Cicogna-Mozzoni 7 [map] (www.villacicognamozzoni.it; charge), an impressive Renaissance stately home inhabited by the genial Count Cicogna-Mozzoni.
The family fortunes were founded on a happy accident: in 1476 Galeazzo Sforza, the powerful duke of Milan, was out hunting when he chanced upon a bear on the rampage. He was saved from certain death by Agostino Mozzoni and his dog. To express his gratitude, the duke of Milan funded a scheme to transform Mozzoni’s simple hunting lodge into this lovely villa, complete with Italianate gardens, formal box hedges and fountains.
Dinner options
If you are heading back to Varese, opt for the restaurant of the Hotel Bologna, see 3 [map].
Sophisticated Porto Ceresio
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