Nestling between the lakes, the region of Varese never fails to amaze for the variety of its scenery and the deep mark that history has left on it. This goes back to the fifth century before Christ, when the first populations settled in residential communities of pile-dwellers. However, the town centre is Roman in origin and started life as a military garrison. During the Middle Ages Varese lived at close hand the tortured events of the dispute between Milan and Como and subsequently between Milan and Frederick II, and which linked its history with that of the Lombard capital.
Varese was a free municipality until 1765 when it became a signoria of Francesco d'Este, but in 1780 it became a municipality once again. Always a lover of its own autonomy, Varese experienced the advent of the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and the establishment of the French Republic with great joy. In the same way it was a leading player in the Risorgimento, and it was precisely through the unification of Italy that it assumed a central role, developing a significant industrial sector and becoming, as it is today, the economic backbone of the province. The area offers scenery of unparalleled beauty, with mountains and lakes studded with exquisite villas, and where nature and culture live harmoniously together, so that Varese deserves its name "city-garden". A route that will certainly produce some pleasant surprises is that through the Art Nouveau architecture of the city and the province, and in particular the villas and hotels built in the golden age of holidays by the lake.
There is much evidence of the 1000-year history of the city, mostly of an architectural nature. To mention just a few examples, visitors can admire the "Basilica di San Vittore" and the attached XII-XIII century Baptistery of St John (Battistero di San Giovanni), as well as the Bell Tower (Campanile) from the XVII century. Then, as far as civil architecture is concerned, admiration is always aroused in the visitor by the castles, especially that at Masnago, while the magnificent villas with exquisite botanical gardens, such as Palazzo Estense (today the town hall), Villa Mirabello (housing the Civic Museums), the "Ville Ponti"...