Lake Varese

Photos by Marino Bianchi
taken from "Lago Vivo" - GMC editore

The Lake Varese (238 mt. above sea level, 14.8 sq. km in surface area, 8.5 km long) had glacial origin and dates back to the Quaternary period. As like Lake Monate and Lake Comabbio it belongs to the moranic amphiteatheatre of Lake Maggiore.

It is feeded by its catchment basin and the only noteworthy tributary is the Brabbia canal that flows the water from Lake Comabbio. Its effluent is the Bardello Brook that flows from the omonimous town into Lake Maggiore. Isolino Virginia is the only island of the lake.

Lake Varese was the cradle of the the civilisation in the Varese Province. It was inhabited since the Neolithic period by communities that lived in pile-dwelling settlements, evidences of which has been found on Isolino Virginia, Bardello, Bodio and Cazzago Brabbia.

It is part of the same ecosystem as the Palude Brabbia and Lake Biandronno and its reeds protect some rare birds such as the red-crested pochard, the little crake, the bittern and little bittern, the coot and the little grebe. Besides many other common species of birds, there are also numerous frogs and toads, including Lataste's frog and spotted salamander.

On the shores of Lake Varese, there are the towns of Gavirate, Galliate Lombardo, Bodio Lomnago, Cazzago Brabbia, Biandronno and Bardello, everyone with beautiful landscapes on the lake itself, on the Campo dei Fiori massif and on the Monte Rosa.