Piazza Monte Grappa, on the cusp of Varese's old town, is fascinating for history and architecture buffs. The square was completely remade in grand Fascist fashion in the early 1930s. Most extraordinary is the Torre Civica, an enormous and somehow menacing clock tower; at the base flowers an arengario (a balcony from which Mussolini and co could harangue the populace). It has an almost sci-fi quality about it.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
29.44 MILES
Milan's most famous mural, Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, is hidden away on a wall of the refectory adjoining the Basilica di Santa Maria delle…
28.58 MILES
Behind striking Renaissance-revival black-and-white walls, Milan’s wealthy have kept their dynastic ambitions alive long after death with grand sculptural…
29.61 MILES
Located upstairs from one of Italy’s most prestigious art schools, this gallery houses Milan’s collection of Old Masters, much of it ‘lifted’ from Venice…
27.62 MILES
Rising dramatically above the Old Town, this medieval stronghold is Bellinzona’s most visible icon. Head up Salita San Michele from Piazza Collegiata, or…
29.95 MILES
A stroll around the Quadrilatero d'Oro, the world's most famous shopping district, is a must even for those not sartorially inclined. The quaintly cobbled…
29.49 MILES
Originally a Visconti fortress, this iconic red-brick castle was later home to the mighty Sforza dynasty, who ruled Renaissance Milan. The castle's…
29 MILES
Join locals sightseeing at this landmark square named after Italy's most famous female architect. The linchpin of Milan’s Porta Nuova regeneration project…
29.91 MILES
Milan’s most eccentric museum of 20th-century Italian painting is crowded in a 1930s apartment that still has the appearance of the haute-bourgeois home…
Nearby attractions
0.03 MILES
Soaring high above Varese's main square, this enormous clock tower was built in 1933, and has quite the Fascist-era aesthetic about it. At the base, you…
0.07 MILES
North off Piazza Monte Grappa, the delightful pedestrianised Corso Matteotti signals the western boundary of Varese's tiny old centre, at whose heart…
0.08 MILES
The showcase attraction of Varese's centre is this ornate basilica, built between the 16th and 17th centuries. The more stolid facade was an 18th-century…
0.13 MILES
From the 17th century, nobles and the rich, many from Milan, began to build second residences around Varese's historic centre. Of these, the most…
0.14 MILES
Set on a hillside just south of Varese's old centre, these picturesque gardens make a pleasant setting for a stroll. A large circular fountain, a pretty…
6. Museo Civico Archeologico di Villa Mirabello
0.2 MILES
Villa Mirabello houses Varese’s main museum, which has a wide-ranging collection covering prehistoric times, the Roman era, the Lombards and the Middle…
0.56 MILES
On a rise north of Varese’s centre, where the high walls of private residences enclose narrow, winding lanes, Villa Panza enjoys beautiful views of the…
0.66 MILES
A magnificent 17th-century villa that houses the provincial government. In the late 1800s, it was transformed into a grand hotel, and hosted luminaries…