Varese Ligure

As far as the History of the place is concerned, we know that in 1161 Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted the village to the Fieschi family as a fief. However, the origins of the village probably date to an earlier period (some people think that the ancient part of Grexino is a clear Byzantine toponym). It was under the dominion of the Fieschi family that the entire Borgo Rotondo and the defensive castle were built.

Right at the threshold of the town we find the elegant 18^th century Palazzo Ferrari, whose private chapel hosted the wedding of Domenico Pallavicini and Luigia Ferrari, the iconic woman who eternalised the concept of the transience of Beauty in Foscolo’s famous ode To Luigia Pallavicini Fallen from a Horse.

Fieschi Castle

The origins of a settlement are never accidental. Varese Ligure owes its own origins to the strategic position at the intersection of the transapennine roads leading to Parma, to the North-East, and to Bobbio and Genova, to the West, following the ridge road.

The village was probably built on a previous Byzantine settlement, since remains belonging to that era were found during the excavation works that were carried out in the area of the Fieschi castle. This hypothesis is supported by some toponyms of Greek origin such as “Mount of the Greeks” and the district of Grecino; furthermore, Giorgio Ciprio, an ancient geographer of the Empire, documented the existence in the area of Lunigiana, between the 6^th and 7^th century, of four fortifications that represented the Byzantine borders in Lunigiana. Among them, Ciprio mentioned the Kastron Kampsas, which was identified by scholars with Campi, located in the upper Taro Valley, on the road to Mount Gottero.

Varese Ligure was under the dominion of the powerful Genoese family of the Fieschi, who were Guelphs. Their presence has been documented since the beginning of the 11^th century, when they were appointed by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (1161). The Fieschi exerted a strong authority over the entire Upper Vara Valley and, among many vicissitudes, they represented the greatest part of its history until 1547, when, following the unsuccessful conspiracy against Andrea Doria, the House collapsed and its properties were confiscated by the Republic of Genoa. In 1797, the village was under the French dominion with Napoleon Bonaparte. Later, in 1815, it was  incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1862,  it received its current name of Varese Ligure and in 1923, with the establishment of the province of La Spezia, it was incorporated into this provincial administration.

The structure of the Fieschi Castle mainly consists of two fortified towers. One is known as the “Torre del Piccinino” and it was named after the captain of fortune who conquered the castle on behalf of the Visconti family and had the tower built in 1435; the other is known as the “Torre del Landi” because it was built by this new owner in 1472. The castle was recently donated to the Municipality by the last owners and it has since become a new centre of cultural activities that involve the community of Varese.