HOTEL UNGHERIA - VOLTORRE - VELATE
HOTEL UNGHERIA – VOLTORRE - VELATE
27km - 2 hours - medium difficulty
A medium difficulty itinerary leading to the discovery of some lesser-known corners of the Province, hidden in plain view just outside the city of Varese.
Soon after leaving the hotel, cycling down Viale Borri, we cross the city center, passing by Piazza Monte Grappa and then in front of the Palazzo Estense, seat of the City Government, with its splendid Italian-style gardens. At the roundabout, turning to the left, we cycle towards Piazza Libertà, with another great palace testifying to the wealth flowing through Varese in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Villa Recalcati, now housing the Provincial Government, is an elegant building with vast landscaped gardens embellished by exotic and rare botanical specimens.
An easy downhill stretch crosses the neighborhood of Bobbiate, moving in the direction of the Varese Lake. But we are not going to the lakeshore: taking Via del Molino and then making a left turn towards Lissago, we must tackle a short uphill stretch, flanked by ancient residences in pure Lombard style and arriving to a secret treasure. We have reached the village of Mustonate, ancient rural settlement on the banks of Lake Varese, now restored in style, with many beautiful private residences.
This is our first stop, admiring the view over the lake, the hills and the Alps, closing the valleys far away. A short visit to the small Church of San Lorenzo, so ancient it is mentioned in chronicles from the Thirteenth Century, and then we can continue on towards the cycling and pedestrian route around Lake Varese, which we will soon encounter.
Just a moment to get used to the soft up-and-down hills of the route and we will take a detour towards a second treasure: the Cloister of Voltorre, part of a flourishing Benedictine monastery founded before the Twelfth Century. Nowadays, the cloister is often the setting of major art exhibits, shows and events.
Leaving Voltorre in the direction of Barasso, we must take an uphill stretch: along it, we will really come to appreciate the assistance of our electric bikes. Just a few moments of extra thrust and we will cross the SS394 road, which we must take, in the direction of Varese. We will pass in front of the Luvinate Golf Club (another former monastery, beautifully renovated) and leave the main road in correspondence with the streetlight at Via San Vito, turning left and leaving the traffic behind.
A few kilometers on a quiet, easy road, in a residential area, before we take a roundabout, continue straight on into Via Astico and mount up Via Lanfranconi, the last uphill section of this route.
We have now reached Velate, set on the first hills of Varese. In the past it was an independent town and, traditionally, the starting- point for pilgrims on their way to the Sacro Monte. Now it is part of the City of Varese, but is still on the route to visit the holy mountain. We can criss-cross along the old streets, some Medieval in structure, to reach the village center and visit the imposing Church, dedicated to Saint Stephen.
From this point onwards, we will be making our way back to the hotel, mostly downhill, crossing the neighbourhood of Sant'Ambrogio and continuing along the wide Viale Aguggiari, through the town centre and the pedestrian area (Corso Matteotti) to quickly return to our hotel.
