Lake Varese trip planner

A vacation guide to the Varesotto—Italy's Lake Varese, Lake Monate, Lake Comábbio, and Lake Biandronno

Lake Varese. (Photo by Idéfix.)

Between Lake Como and Lake Maggiore lies what is referred to as "Lake Varese" but is actually a quartet of little lakes (Lago di Varese, Lago di Monate, Lago di Comábbio, and pond-sized Lago di Biandronno), collectively known as the Varesotto.

This basin was popular amongst 18th century Lombard landscape painters for its bucolic settings, quiet hamlets, simple Romanesque churches, mirror-like waters, and Alpine backdrops.

A few factories notwithstanding, the scene is largely unchanged today, unplagued by tourist resorts or excessive development. The roads in the Varesotto rarely touch the lake shores, forcing you to navigate into the villages to actually glimpse the waters.

This marshy region has yielded some important prehistoric finds, most especially on Lake Varese's Isolino islet, though the actual finds and the literature contextualizing it all are kept in the Villa Mirabello's musei civici in the nearby city of Varese
(tel. +39-0332-255-432; www.varesecittagiardino.it).

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