Ten Attractions in Varenna - Lake Como

Varenna from Bellagio

Following on from my previous post about places where you can eat outdoors in Varenna, here are ten of the main attractions that we found during our time there:

1. Villa Monastero – From the main piazza (which is free of through traffic), if you walk along the road going south you will soon come to the Villa Monastero and gardens. This is a gorgeous lakeside villa with extravagant gardens; the slopes are quite steep in places.Villa Monastero was built in the early 13th century and was a Cistercian convent dedicated to St Mary Magdalene. We spent more than five peaceful hours strolling around the alluring, lavish gardens with rare Mediterranean and tropical plants and flowers. It is a photographic paradise and famed for its citrus trees. There is another lovely café here called Al Monastero where you can have a break for lunch in stunning surroundings. You can also tour the villa, furnished with Renaissance pieces, baroque lounges, Louis IX furnishings and Gobelin tapestries. There is a long lakeside promenade, with paths and terraces set against a beautiful mountain backdrop. See their website for further information:
http://www.villamonastero.eu/

Villa Monastero

2. Castello di Vezio This partially ruined castle at the top of the hill dates back to the 7th century was allegedly founded by the Lombard Queen Theodolinda. Starting from the main piazza there are signs that lead you along a steep mule track up to it. We took about 45 minutes to reach the castle, through woodland, past wildflowers, cats, butterflies and an olive grove. Once you arrive, you can walk across the drawbridge and climb to the top of the tower for a breathtaking 360˚ view of the lake, the town below and over to the Bellagio headland. Up here you can also meet a falconer who breeds birds of prey such as: barn owls, buzzards and hawks. He holds falconry displays at weekends and you can admire astonishing flights during good weather.For further information see http://www.castellodivezio.it/

Castello di Vezio

3. The Lovers' Walk begins at the departure point for ferries, boats and hydrofoils to a stretch of the lungolago past a small harbour area to a line of lakeside restaurants, pretty shops and gelaterias. It reminded me of the Via dell’Amore in the Cinque Terre - a scenic walkway which clings to the rocks and it is flat and comfortable to stroll along. It is lit up beautifully at night. On the waterfront is a lovely promenade with hanging willows, cypress trees and wood-planked pedestrian bridges.



La Passerella
The Lover's Walk

4.Villa Cipressi is situated in an enchanting position on the shores of Lake Como with a beautiful and rich botanical garden containing towering cypress trees, flowering azaleas, rhododendron, magnolias and wisteria. The Villa Cipressi is converted into a hotel and looks like a gorgeous place to stay or have a wedding reception. The botanical pathway winds through centuries-old gardens with five terraces of luxuriant vegetation that reach down to the lake. Fine sculptures are scattered throughout the manicured compact gardens; it is much easier to get around than the gardens of Villa Monastero. From the lovely restaurant right on the lake shore you have heavenly views of the lake.

Gardens of Villa Cipressi

5. Fiumelatte: you can get to this little frazione of Varenna from Piazza San Giorgio on a lovely path about 1km from the town. It gets its name (river of milk) from the shortest river in Italy, which is only 250m long. The river flows for six months a year, a cascade of bubbling white foam. It springs from a cave in the rock that has had several famous explorers including Leonardo Da Vinci. There is a lovely delicatessen to the right of the river called 'La Bottega di Fiumelatte.' http://www.fiumelatte.it/

6. Churches. The large Romanesque Parish Church of San Giorgio in the main piazza has three naves and twin aisles and was consecrated in 1313. Its façade is embellished by a large fresco portraying Saint Christopher, to bring luck to passing travellers.  The most precious work of art inside is the coloured stone Deposition of Christ. There are also 14th and 15th-century frescoes and polyptychs by Como-based artists. The church was restored in 1957. On Good Friday there was a procession leading from this church with stops at various Stations of the Cross dotted around the town. The impressive belltower chimes on the hour and half hour (but not during the night)!

Chiesa di San Giorgio

Good Friday in Varenna

The Oratorio di San Giovanni Battista is tucked away in the corner of the old town centre. This tenth-century church is the oldest in Varenna and one of the first to be erected along the shores of Lake Como. The building is well-preserved, typically Romanic in style, although the paintings and frescoes that embellish it are from the fifteenth century. It is always open and worth having a look inside.

Oratorio di San Giovanni Battista

Interior of Oratorio San Giovanni Battista

The Chiesa Santa Maria delle Grazie is a 17th century church overlooking the main piazza. It has a Baroque interior, a wooden altar, polychrome wooden statues and paintings from the 16th century.

La Chiesa Santa Maria delle Grazie

7. Art Studios. Varenna has a little artist’s community. The Gallery Roberto Butta has gorgeous paintings of Lake Como and offers a world-wide delivery service. http://www.robertobutta.it/

The DeMaria Studio D’Arte has a permanent display of original oil paintings for Paul Demaria Guaitamacchi collectors worldwide. http://www.pauldemaria.com/

Annamaria Rivolta and her daughter Francesca Porro have beautiful pastel watercolour paintings and give painting lessons too. You can find them at Contrada Pirelli, 6.

8. Exploring Varenna's many quaint narrow lanes and alleyways.

Charming alleyways in Varenna

9. The Ornithological Museum is located inside the tourist information office near Villa Monastero and the main piazza. It contains 700 species of labeled stuffed birds displayed on several floors, which you can examine up close. On the top floor there is also a large stuffed polar bear. This is a fun place for children and nature lovers. http://www.museovarenna.191.it/

10. Ferry and boat trips from Varenna to other towns on the centre lake make Varenna a perfect home base for visiting the entire lake. When taking the ferry back from a trip to Bellagio you’ll have great views of the town, wedged on a promontory under the mountains. Along with the brightly painted houses, you can admire the parish church and the castle at the top of the hill. As the town sits on the eastern side of the lake, the light is spectacular at sunset and covers everything with a warm golden glow.

Sunset in Varenna

We spent the first three days of our week in Varenna exploring all there was to see in the town and then gave Bellagio, Menaggio, Bellano and Tremezzo (home of Villa Carlotta) a day of their own. Varenna is the perfect place to slow down, to relax and breathe more deeply; a place where the beauty of the scenery takes centre stage.


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Have you been to Varenna? What would you include as a must-see here?
Further reading : Where to Eat in Varenna

La Villa Comunale di Chieti

Neptune statue in pond

A good starting point for a walk around Chieti is the Villa Comunale. It is a beautiful public park designed at the end of the 800’s with gardens on three levels containing perfumed flowerbeds and rare plants. Hundreds of age-old trees create shady avenues: colossal cedars, fragrant limes, poplars, slim plane trees and delicate magnolias. They are home to an important and protected fauna, for example birds such as the wren, the goldcrest, the sparrow and the woodpecker. You may also spot dormice and red squirrels as they scurry between the shrubs. There are two ponds with fish and swans, two artistic fountains, statues, busts and monuments. The main fountain (La Fontana Monumentale) in the middle of Piazzale Mazzini was made in Paris for the occasion of the World Fair of 1890. On hot summer days children play around the basin full of fresh water, while parents or grandparents sit and chat on the wrought iron benches all around. In 1893 this park was opened to the public. There is also a lovely well-equipped playground sheltered beneath a canopy of trees.

In the summer children can also enjoy quaint pony and cart rides around the park. For a light meal, an afternoon coffee or an ice-cream, there is a lovely airy café there called Casina dei Tigli (House of the Limes). In the evenings this place is full of young and old. There is music and laughter and a very lively atmosphere. At the top level of the park you have a wonderful panorama of the southern part of the town with the Majella mountains in the background.

The neoclassical Villa Frigerj is at the top (at first I thought it should be spelled with an 'i' at the end but no it is a j). It is home to the splendid Archeological Museum of Abruzzo which was opened in 1959. This contains the famous Guerrero di Capistrano statue.

It's very tranquil and relaxing here. By the way, Chieti is known as ‘the town of the chamomile’ not because they cultivate it here, but because of the fact that is a quiet locality where rarely anything serious happens. In fact the Abruzzo region has one of Italy’s lowest crime rates.

All the citizens of Chieti feel a strong sense of attachment to the Villa Comunale. They went there as children with their grandparents, then played with their friends. They cycled through the park or went roller-skating; they played basketball there. The park also holds memories of their first loves, school trips, and today as adults they go there with their own children…

Further reading: The city of Chieti

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Un buon punto di partenza per una passeggiata intorno a Chieti è la Villa Comunale. È un bellissimo parco pubblico e giardini con profumate aiuole e piante rare sui tre livelli, disegnato alle fine dell’800. Ci sono un centinaio d’alberi secolari creando i viali ombrosi: tigli odorosi e colassali cedri, pioppi, platani snelli e magnolie delicate. A me piacciono molto gli alberi e soprattutto gli alberi in questo parco. Ospitano una fauna importante e protetta, ad esempio gli uccelli come lo scricciolo, il regolo, il passero ed il picchio. I ghiri e gli scoiattoli rossi affrettano il passo tra i cespugli.

C’è anche un bel parco gioco lì, ben equipaggiato e riparato sotto un baldacchino d’alberi. Anche in estate i bambini possono divertirsi con un affascinate pony e carretto che gira tutt’intorno al parco.

Ci sono due laghetti con pesci e cigni, due fontane artistiche, le statue, i busti ed i monumenti. La fontana principale detta ‘La Fontana Monumentale’ nel centro del Piazzale Mazzini, fu comperata a Parigi in occasione dell’esposizione universale del 1890. Nelle calde sere d’estate i bambini giocano intorno alla vasca piena d’acqua fresca mentre i genitori o i nonni siedono a chiacchierare sulle panchine di ferro brunito.

Villa Frigerj

statua nel giardino della Villa Comunale Chieti

Se si cerca un caffé o un gelato, si può andare al bel ristorante lì chiamato ‘Casina Dei Tigli’.
È molto tranquillo e rilassante alla Villa Comunale. A proposito, Chieti è nota come ‘la citta della camomilla’ non perché vi si coltiva, ma per il fatto che è una località molto tranquilla dove raramente succede qualcosa di grave.

Sul livello più alto c’è il bellissimo edificio neoclassico della Villa Frigerj, che fu costruito nel 1830. Dal 1959 è sede del Museo Archeologico d’Abruzzo dove si trova il Guerriero di Capestrano.


Tutti i cittadini di Chieti sentano un forte senso di appartenenza alla villa. Ci sono venuti da bambini con i nonni, e poi con gli amici a giocare, in bici, con i pattini, a pallacanestro. Alla villa ci sono i loro ricordi dei primi amori, di gite scolastiche e oggi come adulti ci vengono con i loro figli…

La Citta' di Chieti