Varese


Varese is a city and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559.
It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part of the city is called Varesotto.

Geography

The city of Varese lies at the foot of Sacro Monte di Varese, part of the Campo dei Fiori mountain range, that hosts an astronomical observatory, as well as the Prealpino Geophysical Centre. The village which is in the middle of the mountain is called Santa Maria del Monte because of the medieval sanctuary, which is reached through the avenue of the chapels of the Sacred Mountain.
Varese is situated on seven hills: the San Pedrino Hill, the Giubiano Hill, the Campigli Hill, the Sant'Albino Hill, the Biumo Superiore Hill, Colle di Montalbano and the Hill of Miogni.
The city also looks over Lake Varese.

Climate

Varese's winters are less mitigated by the proximity of the Lago Maggiore and of the minor lakes surrounding it. Low temperatures in the late autumn and winter frequently go down a few degrees below zero. This differentiates it from areas south of the city. As in other cities in the foothills of Lombardy, fog is an infrequent phenomenon. Varese is on average cooler than other cities of the Lombard Prealps, especially in winter. The rainfall of Varese is among the highest in Italy, with more than of annual average. In winter, snow falls quite frequently, especially in January.

Demographics

Varese city, like the province, has a very high immigrant population owing to both its economy and its location.

Government

History

In 1859, Giuseppe Garibaldi confronted Austrian forces led by Field Marshal-Lieutenant Carl Baron Urban near Varese. Also, it was here where Alessandro Marchetti's Savoia-Marchetti SM.93 made his first test flights.

Transport

The road and rail infrastructure network that makes up the connection system of the city of Varese is powered by a lot of little streets and a double rail network and by 74,000 of high mobility. In particular, the major movements are incoming into Varese. In the average weekday over 113,000 vehicles enter Varese.
The most used form of transportation in Varese is the private vehicle, followed by the local public transport.
The A8 motorway connects Varese with Milan. The city has also a Ring Road System: Varese's Ring Road consists of three roads currently in operation and one more under construction. The currently operating roads of Varese's Ring Road System are the East Ring Road, a double lane road managed by ANAS; South Ring Road, a double lane highway managed by Autostrada Pedemontana Lombarda; North East Ring Road, a single lane road managed by ANAS.
Many important national and provincial roads pass through Varese.
The entire rail network serving the capital is electrified.
The city is served by three railway stations:
- Varese FS, managed by Centostazioni and RFI SpA, Ferrovie Dello Stato Group: it is the first/last station of Suburban Line S5 of Milan Varese-Treviglio via Milan, and run high-frequency train to Milan and Porto Ceresio, toward Switzerland. In addition, Varese FS provides direct trains to Malpensa Airport, Como, Mendrisio and Lugano.
- Varese Nord and Varese Casbeno, managed by FerrovieNord on Milan Cadorna-Saronno-Varese-Laveno line: train service is operated by Trenord;
The city has both an extensive city bus network operated by Autolinee Varesine, and suburban bus services.
International bus services are operated by Swiss Post Bus of the line 523 that link Varese to Lugano and Mendrisio.
In Varese there is also a funicular service on the Vellone-Sacro Monte funicular.

Main sights

The city is home to the Sacro Monte di Varese, a place of pilgrimage and worship. It is one of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, included on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Civic buildings

Varese is rich in castles, many once pertaining to the Borromeo family. The historic centre of the city includes the Praetorian Palace and Villa Cagna, a residential complex that also hosts the Civic Music School of Varese.
After the 19th century, it was enriched by villas and their surrounding gardens, many now open to visitors, including:
In the city centre, there is the Palazzo Estense with its gardens and Villa Mirabello.

Natural areas

In addition to numerous public parks of the city, often appurtenances of historic villas, there is the Park Luigi Zanzi in Schiranna, established in the sixties through a partial filling of the coast of Lake Varese. It is a large botanical garden located on the banks of Lake Varese, rich in numerous species of trees and birdlife that is partially sheltered in the reeds along the banks. Bathing beach in the summer, the park also offers the possibility of peaceful walks and cycling on the bike path.
Close to the city of Varese rises instead the Regional Park Campo dei Fiori, a natural reserve of over five thousand acres consists of the massive mountain Campo dei Fiori and Mount Martica, separate from that valley Rasa which is the junction of Valcuvia and Olona valley. Once the peak of the Campo dei Fiori was characterized by extensive grassland, why was historical destination of tourism of Varese and of Milan. Today is the spectacular blooms - which gave the name to the area - to be one of its main attractions. It is a very diverse place showing aspects of extreme interest, related both to the natural environment, both in history and culture, referring to a past full of events and traditions. There are small farming villages, monuments of rare beauty, cave systems and articulated a well-maintained network of trails: some passable, as well as on foot, on horseback and bicycle. Inside the park are established six nature reserves enclosing environments most important and characteristic.

Economy

The economy of Varese is mainly based on industry and, to a lesser extent, specialized agriculture; some famous Varese-based firms are:
and many more as it is one of the most industrialised areas in Northern Italy.
Varese is close to Malpensa International Airport, which serves the international traffic of Milan, Italy.

Education

Varese is home to a European School, the European School, Varese, which was established in 1960 for the children of European Union staff, who work mainly at one of the three institutes of the Joint Research Centre in nearby Ispra.
It is one of the two sites of the University of Insubria, hosting in the newly-built Campus Bizzozero faculties of Medicine, Economics, Natural Sciences etc.

People

Varese was home of several cyclists, including:
Varese is known for the Pallacanestro Varese which played, in the 1970s, 10 European Champions Cup finals in a row and won 5 of them.
Varese is twinned with: