Holiday apartment in Varallo: Sacro Monte, art and mountain landscape
Accommodation in Varallo
Varallo combines religious history, important art and a pre-Alpine landscape. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Varallo, you are choosing a place where cultural discoveries and trails with sweeping mountain views can be brought together in a single travel experience. Sacro Monte, the city’s museums and the Sentiero di padre Gallino offer different reasons to explore the surrounding area.
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Photo: Valerio Bozzolan via Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Art and religious history in Varallo
Sacro Monte di Varallo was created at the end of the 15th century by the Franciscan friar Bernardino Caimi as a replica of holy sites in Palestine. At the foot of the ascent stands the Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie, which was designed as a visual and spiritual introduction to the devotional route. This church contains the Parete Gaudenziana, a fresco cycle from 1513 featuring 20 episodes from the life and Passion of Christ.
The Palazzo dei Musei houses the Pinacoteca di Varallo and the Museo Calderini, bringing together art and scientific collections. Founded in 1886, the Pinacoteca documents the development of Valsesian painting from the 15th to the 19th century and includes works by Gaudenzio Ferrari and Tanzio da Varallo. The Museo Calderini collection covers mineralogy, zoology, archaeology and ethnography.
Smaller institutions also add to the area’s cultural profile. The Casa Museo Cesare Scaglia is located in the building where the painter Cesare Scaglia lived and worked. The Museo Cesare Scaglia displays paintings, furniture, furnishings, books and jewellery in three rooms with their original interiors. At the Bottega dell'Artigianato, you can see typical handicrafts from Valsesia, including Puncetto lace, Scapin slippers, wood carvings and soapstone works. The Museo della Pesca is located in the historic Palazzo Scarognini – D’Adda and displays historical fishing equipment.
Pre-Alpine landscape and trails
Sacro Monte di Varallo is a 22-hectare protected area in the Piedmont region. It lies in a pre-Alpine setting at an altitude of between 455 and 650 metres. This combination of protected landscape and religious cultural heritage makes the site interesting if you do not want to experience nature and history separately.
The Sentiero di padre Gallino leads from the Sacro Monte area to the hills above Varallo. From there, it offers views of the Alps, Monte Rosa, Valsesia and Val Mastallone. The Via Ferrata della Falconera, on the other hand, is for you if you are looking for a physically and technically demanding activity: the via ferrata has 400 metres of safety cable, overhanging sections and horizontal rock ledges.
Choose a holiday apartment in Varallo based on your travel interests
When choosing a holiday apartment in Varallo, your preferred mix of culture, religious history, landscape and physical activity may therefore be the deciding factor. Anyone focusing on the Parete Gaudenziana, Sacro Monte and the collections at the Palazzo dei Musei will plan differently from someone who wants to include the Sentiero di padre Gallino or the demanding Via Ferrata della Falconera. Daily bus services connect Varallo with Milan, Turin, Vercelli, Novara and Biella, providing a concrete factor for planning your journey.
Discover more places
If you would like to compare other places with Varallo for your travel planning, you can then take a look at Fobello, Livorno Ferraris, Rimasco, Serravalle Sesia, Albano Vercellese, Santhià, Breia and Riva Valdobbia.
For the overview of the wider area: Vercelli.
