The province of Varese () is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in the

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

region of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Its capital is the city of

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

(population of 80,857 inhabitants), but its largest city is

Busto Arsizio Busto Arsizio (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the south-easternmost part of the province of Varese, in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce. It is the ...

. The headquarters of AgustaWestland, the company merged into Leonardo since 2016 and the world's largest producer of

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s, is based in Samarate, a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) of the province. The province contains 139 ''

comuni A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (: ''

''). As of 2015, it has a population of 889,410 inhabitants over an area of .

History

In Roman times, the fortified settlements of Castelseprio and the port of Angera were of high importance in the region. The House of Visconti conquered the region in the 13th century and completely destroyed Castelseprio. The House of Visconti used the land for agricultural purposes and as part of the territories of Milan. During this Visconti rule, Varese became prosperous due to high levels of trade in the region but remained small. Prior to his appointment as Duke,

Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena Francesco III d'Este (Francesco Maria; 2 July 1698 – 22 February 1780) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1737 until his death. Biography He was born in Modena, the son of Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena, and Duchess Charlotte of Brunswic ...

lived in the region during the 18th century. While the unification of Italy was initiating, Italian general

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

attempted to install anti-Austrians in Varese; in response to this, the Austrians attempted to invade in 1859, and a battle occurred in Varese, resulting in Garibaldi's victory. During the second half of the 19th century, the area saw considerable economic growth with the birth of numerous factories, especially in the paper, mechanical, and textile industries. Umberto Bossi was born in 1941 near Varese, who believed that the region of Lombardy should have a degree of independence; in 1986, he founded the Lombard League which became a component of the

Lega Nord Lega Nord (LN; ), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing politics, right-wing, federalism, federalist, populism, populist and conservatism, conservative list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy. In the run-up to the 201 ...

("North League").

Geography

The province of Varese is one of twelve provinces in the region of

, northern Italy. It is the most northwesterly province in the region and its northern border forms the international boundary with Switzerland. The

province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola The province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (, ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Piedmont region of Italy. It was created in 1992 through the fusion of three geographical areas which had previously been part of the province of Novara. The ar ...

in the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

region lies to the northwest and the province of Novara, also in Piedmont, to the west. To the south lies the

Metropolitan City of Milan The Metropolitan City of Milan (; , ) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city (not to be confused with the Milan metropolitan area, metropolitan area) in the Lombardy region of Italy. It is the second most populous metropolitan ci ...

, and to the east, the province of Monza and Brianza, and the

province of Como The province of Como (; Comasco dialect, Comasco: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It borders the Switzerland, Swiss cantons of Ticino and Grisons, Grigioni to the north, the Italian provinces of Province of ...

. The provincial capital is the city of

, which is situated beside Lake Varese at the foot of

Sacro Monte di Varese The Sacro Monte di Varese (literally 'Sacred Mount of Varese') is one of the nine sacri monti in the Italy, Italian regions of Lombardy and Piedmont which were inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2003. It has an altitude of 80 ...

, part of the Campo dei Fiori di Varese mountain range; the city is also close to the Cinque Vette Park.

Economy

The agriculture of this sub-Alpine region is based on livestock farming and the economy mainly relies on the

industrial sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construc ...

, with many people commuting daily to Milan. Among the main companies headquartered in the province are Alenia Aermacchi (aeronautics), AgustaWestland (aeronautics), Bticino (metalworking),

Cagiva Cagiva is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. It was founded in 1950 by Giovanni Castiglioni in Varese, originally producing small metal components. Giovanni's sons, Claudio and Gianfranco Castiglioni, went into the motorcycle industry in 1978. ...

(motorcycles), Birrificio Angelo Poretti (brewery), Ignis (home appliances), Vibram (footwear soles). In the past the province was famous for its

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...

, especially in the Olona Valley and the

Gallarate Gallarate (; Lombard language, Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people. It is the junction ...

area, but this has gradually declined since the 1970s. Likewise, Varese was the birthplace of some of Italy's main aircraft manufacturers; in addition to the already-mentioned Aermacchi and AgustaWestland, Savoia Marchetti was also born here. There are local cheeses made from goat's milk and local meat dishes, and there are freshwater fish caught in the many lakes. Other local products are a local variety of

asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

, chestnuts, berries and

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

, and grapes grown locally are made into traditional red and white wines.

Cuisine

Common in the whole Insubria area is '' bruscitti'' (; , ; ) an Italian single-course meal of the Lombard, Piedmontese, and Ticinese cuisines based on finely chopped

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

cooked for a long time. It is a typical winter dish and is served with

polenta Polenta (, ) is an Italian cuisine, Italian dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. It may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried or Grilling, grilled. The variety of cereal used is ...

, purée or . is originally from the (municipality) of

, Italy. ''Bruscitti'' is widespread in northwestern

(Italy), northeastern

(Italy), and lower

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

(Switzerland). The dish probably originated in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Based on finely chopped

and cooked for a long time (from 2 to 4 hours) on a low flame, the other ingredients of the dish are

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

, garlic,

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

seeds, and lard or pancetta. At the end of cooking, it is blended with well-structured red wines such as Barbera, Barolo or Nebbiolo.

Education

In Gorla Minore, a municipality in the province of Varese, there is Collegio Rotondi, a Catholic charter school established in 1599.

Municipalities

The full list is:

Transport

Motorways

* Autostrada A8:

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

* Autostrada A9: Lainate- Como- Chiasso * Autostrada A36: Cassano Magnago-

Lentate sul Seveso Lentate sul Seveso is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan. Lentate sul Seveso borders the following municipalities: Mariano Comense, Carimate, Cermen ...

* Autostrada A60: Beltway around

Railway lines

* Porto Ceresio–Milan railway * Mendrisio–Varese railway * Saronno–Laveno railway * Domodossola–Milan railway * Luino–Oleggio railway

References

External links

Official website
* {{Coord, 45, 49, N, 8, 50, E, source:itwiki_type:adm2nd, display=title