Varenna, Lake Como
Welcome to Varenna,
situated on Lecco’s shore between Mandello
and Bellano,
this ancient village overlooks the lake in the point where the three branches
meet and for this reason Varenna is linked well to the
major resorts on the opposite shore.
Varenna is built on a promontary near the mouth of the
river Esino and it could have been a settlement dating back to the Iron
Age. In the Middle Ages Varenna was involved in the conflicts between
Como and Milan, and in 1169, it became a refuge for the inhabitants of
the Isola Comacina when they escaped from the destruction of the island
by hand of the Comaschi. Every year Varenna remembers this episode during
the feast of San Giovanni with thousands of small lights floating on the
Lake.
Varenna is a charming town, made of narrow alleys that descend
to the lake, ancient houses and porches along the lake. What
once was a village that lived on fishing and on the extraction of the
popular black marble, today has become an important tourist congressional
resort.
Varenna represents a good starting point to visit the main areas
of the Lario, but also it’s worth visiting Fiumelatte. Perledo,
Vezio
and Esino Lario; from these places you can set out on trips to the mountain
Grigne.