Varenna, Italy

Just across the lake from Menaggio is the charming town of Varenna. The town has been here since at least the middle ages. There was a ten-year war between the city of Como and Milan in 1120s. Varenna supported Milan in the war and was sacked in retribution by Como in 1126. For two more centuries there was conflict between Varenna and Como, but ultimately Varenna kept growing and prospering. Now it is one of the jewels of Lake Como.

We arrived by ferry and walked from the ferry terminal along the Passeggiata degli Innamorati ("Lover's Walk"), which is a picturesque path along the waterfront with blooming flowers, overhanging vines and views across the lake to Bellagio and Menaggio.

We visited the gorgeous Villa Monastero, which used to be a Cistercian convent and is now an internationally recognized scientific conference venue. The convent here was closed in the late 1500s, and later owners demolished the convent buildings and built a villa on the foundations. In the 1890s a wealthy German bought the villa and renovated the property in a more modern Romantic style.

We spent an hour or so strolling through the gardens. They are fantastic, even in autumn, but I'm sure they are even more remarkable in the springtime when the wisteria vines are blooming.

The interior of the main house has been preserved as a museum, and has all the opulent furnishings you would expect to see in a ritzy Italian villa on Lake Como. The upkeep must be intense -- I can't imagine having to dust all the nooks and crannies in rooms furnished like this.

Our ticket also allowed us to explore the gardens at Villa Cipressi, which is the bright yellow building on the far right of the photo below. Villa Cipressi is now a swanky hotel, and I thought the gardens there were even better maintained than the ones at Villa Monastero, but just a bit smaller and more crowded.

From Villa Cipressi we walked back to the center of town, exploring some of the alluring little laneways that make up the historic districts streets. 

Near the main square, we stopped in at the 11th century church of San Giovanni Battista. It is the oldest church in Varenna and one of the oldest churches on the entire lake, built in the Romanesque style. The frescoes on the interior walls date back to the 16th century. 

Just across the main square Piazza San Giorgio is the town's slightly newer (consecrated in 1313) church that dominates Varenna's skyline -- the church of San Giorgio. We had a nice picnic lunch (focaccia pizzas from one of the pasticcerias) on one of the benches looking out over the piazza.

After lunch, we stopped in at the tourist office to find out more about hiking up to the castle at the top of the hill. The woman at the desk was super helpful -- she said there were two routes: an easier longer one in full sun or a slightly shorter much steeper route that was mostly shaded. Because it was a really warm afternoon, we opted for the sun protection of the latter and it was not for the faint of heart. Straight up a cobblestone road, no switchbacks, just up, up, up! I was glad I was wearing good non-skid shoes. Next time maybe we would go up the longer more scenic route which took an ancient Roman road (with the fancy name of Sentiero degli Scabium). Instead we plodded up what one of the guides refers to as the old "mule track" -- an accurate assessment, in my opinion!

After huffing and puffing our way up, we arrived at the small hamlet of Vezio, home to a beautiful 11th century castello. All along the battlements of the castle are these cool plaster "ghosts" that keep watch. Every year, they remake plaster casts of volunteers wearing gauze in different poses. The phantoms are temporary and then when the snow comes in winter they degrade and are destroyed, then remade again in spring to haunt the castle again.

According to legend, the castle was supposedly built on the orders of Queen Theolinda, who ruled Lombardy in the early 600s AD. She was one of the first Catholic rulers in the region and built a gorgeous cathedral in Monza (which we did not have time to see because...racecars. Next time, maybe.). While the origins of the Vezio castle are uncertain, we know there was definitely a castello or fortress here in the year 1169 as the town of Varenna was once walled and the walls extended all the way up the hill to include the fortifications here.

Anyway, regardless of when it came into existence, the castle appears to have been pretty heavily restored in more recent times. It is definitely still actively in use by medieval re-enactors (a troupe called "La Corte del Drago"), who hold monthly events with archery and weapons demonstrations.

The castle also houses a center for the care and training of birds of prey. The falconry team holds many flight demonstrations for the public during the summer season. Unfortunately nothing in particular was happening at the time of our visit. We were lucky to be able to see one of the symbolic birds of the castle -- a Eurasian Eagle Owl named Artü. He was a beautiful creature, but he did seem quite a bit grumpy to be kept awake in the middle of the day by gawking tourists. 

One of the oldest things on display in the castle was this cast of the Lariosaurus, a smallish Triassic-era dinosaur that had flippers instead of feet and spent time both in the water and on land. "Lario" was the old Latinized name for the lake. A skeleton of this small dinosaur (less than 3 feet long) was discovered here in the 1830s. There is a legend that the Lariosaurus still roam the lake in Loch Ness Monster fashion, but so far we have yet to see one. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled though!

Here's a final shot of the castle looking down from the tower keep. The views up here were definitely worth the uphill hike, but luckily it's all downhill from here!