VARESE - SACRO MONTE
VARESE – SACRO MONTE
9km - 1 hour - difficult
Our electric bicycles help us climb up to the Sacro Monte, a natural balcony giving onto the entire Province of Varese
One of the most rewarding destinations: the effort of climbing up the Sacro Monte (while assisted by the extra thrust of our electric bikes) will be more than compensated by the beauty of the place and of the views over the city and Province.
We depart from Piazza Monte Grappa, the hub of Varese's city life, and from here take the elegant Corso Matteotti (a pedestrian area), admiring the city's ancient buildings and monuments. Taking Via Carlo Cattaneo we reach Piazza Beccaria and, from this square, Viale Aguggiari. The road we are now on is named after the monk who created, together with architect Giuseppe Bernasconi, the Sacred Way, with its 14 chapels (a 15th is inside the Sanctuary itself), which for the past 400 years have guided the steps of pilgrims in their ascent to the holy mountain.
Having passed a couple of rather busy crossroads (pay particular attention in correspondence to the turning-off point for the racing track) we begin to see the profile of the mountain rising just in front of us, almost close enough to touch. We can make out the hamlet of Santa Maria del Monte, our destination, gripping the mountainside of the Campo dei Fiori Massif, Varese's green and forested mountain, with its many hiking paths and open-air sport opportunities.
At the bottom of Viale Aguggiari we cannot help but notice a strange white spherical construction: it is a church dedicated to St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan monk who died in the Auschwitz concentration camp, in 1941.
Now the road starts snaking up the hill of Sant’Ambrogio, Varese’s elegant residential area (we suggest a short detour to visit the Gardens of Villa Toeplitz). This is where the actual climb to the Sacro Monte begins, a route familiar to all cyclists and bicycle lovers visiting the area.
Passing by beautiful villas and landscaped gardens in flower, we must pace ourselves to tackle the first uphill kilometers. After a while, behind a curve, we encounter the first markers of the pilgrimage to the Sacred Mountain of Varese: the small Church of the Immaculate Conception, the Arch of the Rosary and, behind it, the cobblestone path with the first sixteenth-century chapels. It isn't possible to climb the Sacred Way by bicycle, so if you wish to take a look at these first chapels, you should leave the bike and walk the path for a stretch.
Back to the paved road, we continue cycling up the mountain, aided by our pedal-assisted bikes which allow us to tackle the climb with little effort. In this second part of the route we are looking onto the village of Santa Maria del Monte, now only a stone’s throw away, while at our left we find the peak of the Campo dei Fiori and can make out the Grand Hotel. The view over Lake Varese and the Alps accompanies us throughout the journey.
Almost at the top, a short passage under the archway of the cableway connecting the valley of the Vellone river to the village of Santa Maria del Monte, then a few more curves and we can catch our breath as we pedal into the Piazzale Pogliaghi square. Here we can leave our bicycles, take in the view and the fresh air, before enjoying a stroll around the lovely village.
