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Varese: an art nouveau province
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Varese is famous for having been the cradle of the Italian aircraft industry. It is a border town where people love to achieve industrial supremacy, sporting records and sometimes artistic pre-eminence (such as the museum of environmental art in Villa Panza).
Varese is famous for having been the cradle of the Italian aircraft industry. It is a border town where people love to achieve industrial supremacy, sporting records and sometimes artistic pre-eminence (such as the museum of environmental art in Villa Panza).
A region, set between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como, and illuminated by the reflections of seven lakes: on the route to the centre of Europe. Neolithic lake dwellers used to plough the waters on slow pirogues: today rowers use light, fast and impressive boats. It is possible to go by boat into the middle of the lake, where there is a view which is among the most beautiful in the world, and enjoy the jewels of this nature, among the lights of Lake Varese and the profile of Monte Rosa which, in the XVIII century, Bellotto immortalised in the famous “View from Gazzada”. A land sealed to the north by the mountains of Campo dei Fiori. Peaks, stretched out harmoniously, tracing the unforgettable profile, highlighted by the medieval village of Santa Maria del Monte, a radiant destination of faith and art. Daring entrepreneurs chose this scenery for magnificent holidays resembling those taken by ancient and noble families. A more and more dynamic and forward looking middle class had houses, luxurious hotels, villas, large and small, built in the town and factories on the outskirts, taking advantage of the railway and tram network in the region. The roar of the engines of aeroplanes, cars and motorcycles was familiar. On Lake Varese and on the Ticino the seaplanes competed with the rowers for supremacy on water and on land. Towards the end of the nineteenth century Sommaruga was called to Varese and he proposed a new international style which in Italy was called “Liberty”, in counterpoint with the eclectic taste, developed with the rediscovery of the cultural roots of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance movements. Both the art nouveau and the eclectic architects designed for people who wanted to show off their social rank and they sensed the extraordinary dynamics of the environment, rich in magical effects which were the result of a combination of light emanating from the mountain, the lake and the plain. They built using local stone combined with bricks, with an attentive eye to ancient tradition but put forward, thanks to refined techniques, in a modern version. One of the dynamic and innovative interpreters was Giovanni Chino who invented a way of working with cement. He used this material to make trims, mantle-pieces, door and window posts and lintels which until then had been made of marble and stone. The work of Giuseppe Sommaruga is very famous in the province of Varese. He embellished the natural landscape, by magically inserting his architectural innovations into the mountain. The impressive architectural complex of the Grand Hotel “Campo dei Fiori”, which has been closed for fifty years, looks over the town from the heights of Campo dei Fiori. It was built in art nouveau style together with the restaurant “Belvedere” (today in ruins) and the top station of the funicular railway. In recent years the funicular railway leading to Sacro Monte has been put back into operation and perhaps in the future the funicular railway in Campo dei Fiori will also be restored.
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