Liguria · La Spezia
Varese Ligure
The Val di Vara's medieval seat, the first European municipality with ISO 14001 certification, anchor of Italy's largest organic district.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 10 min from Genoa
- Population
- 1,791
Known for
BORGO ROTONDO
Thirteenth-century planned market town in an elliptical ring, pastel houses with arcades enclosing two interior piazzas.
FIRST ISO 14001
1999, the first municipality in Europe certified under the ISO 14001 environmental management standard, two decades before the conversation went mainstream.
VAL DI VARA BIO
Anchor commune of Italy's earliest organic biodistrict, 60 percent of certified agricultural land farmed bio, the dairy cooperative first in Liguria.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J10°
- F11°
- M13°
- A16°
- M19°
- J23°
- J27°
- A27°
- S23°
- O19°
- N14°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Giovanni Battista, 24 June
Why come
Varese Ligure sits in the upper Val di Vara, fifty kilometers east of Genoa. The Fieschi counts founded the borgo in the thirteenth century at the confluence of the Crovana and Gottero streams. The Borgo Rotondo, an ellipse of pastel houses with arcaded ground floors, was laid out as a planned market town for trade between the Po valley and the Ligurian coast: the inner ring stayed open as a marketplace, the outer ring as defensive wall.
The Castello dei Fieschi, two cylindrical towers and a central keep, anchors the upper end. In 1999 Varese Ligure became the first European municipality to receive ISO 14001 environmental certification. The Val di Vara Biodistretto, founded in 2006, now counts 95 organic producers across seven communes, with 60 percent of the certified agricultural area in Varese Ligure itself organic.
The dairy cooperative was the first in Liguria certified bio. The borgo carries Bandiera Arancione and Borghi più belli badges together.
The Sunday letter
Varese Ligure is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Varese Ligure comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Varese Ligure in our articles
The prettiest villages in the province of La Spezia7 towns, Varese Ligure among them.
The best hill towns within 75 minutes of Genoa8 towns, Varese Ligure among them.
Balcony towns: high villages above the Ligurian sea10 towns, Varese Ligure among them.
The 10 best hill towns within 90 minutes of Genova10 towns, Varese Ligure among them.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 1h 19m by car.
Florence / Pisa (PSA) is about 1h 42m away.
By car from the centre of Pisa 1h 33m or Parma 1h 51m.
Coming by train into Genova Piazza Principe? Varese Ligure is about 1h 17m away by road.
What to see
Borgo Rotondo
Thirteenth-century elliptical plan of pastel-fronted houses with arcaded ground floors enclosing two piazzas, laid out as a market ring.
Castello dei Fieschi
Fifteenth-century fortress at the upper edge of the borgo, two cylindrical towers and a central keep, residence of the Fieschi counts.
Chiesa dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo
Eighteenth-century parish church on the main piazza, Baroque interior, replaced an earlier medieval church on the same footprint.
Ponte di Grecino
Medieval stone bridge over the Crovana stream, on the route between the borgo and the upper Val di Vara villages.
Biodistretto Val di Vara
Italy's earliest organic district, founded 2006, 95 farms across seven communes, dairy cooperative the first bio-certified in Liguria.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Varese Ligure fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Living here
- Population 1,791
- Remotei
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Genoa, 1 h 19 min drive
- Market day Tuesday
- Regional capital Genova, 1 h 10 min drive
Common questions
- What is Varese Ligure known for?
- Varese Ligure is the Val di Vara's medieval seat at 358 meters, the first European municipality with ISO 14001 certification, anchor of Italy's largest organic district.
- Where is Varese Ligure?
- Varese Ligure is a comune in the province of La Spezia, in Liguria.
- What is the nearest airport to Varese Ligure?
- Genoa (GOA), about 1h 19m by car.
- How long is the drive from Pisa to Varese Ligure?
- About 1h 33m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Varese Ligure?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Varese Ligure?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: Giovanni Battista, 24 June.
- Which other towns are like Varese Ligure?
- Esanatoglia, Cantiano and Tenno.
- How many people live in Varese Ligure?
- 1,791 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 358 m
- Population: 1,791
- Surface area: 137.59 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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