The Borgo Rotondo is a design. At the end of the thirteenth century the Fieschi, having taken control of the upper val di Vara, decided to found a village that would become its centre, and drew it on paper: walled houses, all alike. At the northern end stands their castle, with the tower of Piccinino, of 1435, and that of Manfredo Landi, of 1472; the last owners gave it to the town in 2016.
The territory is the largest in the province of La Spezia, more than fifteen per cent of it on its own, and livestock has been raised in this valley for a thousand years; the switch to organic farming earned it the nickname of the organic valley. The population is 2,103.
castello di Varese Ligure
Pesto alla Genovese
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Next up: Saint John the Baptist, patron of the Fieschi family's round village, Thursday 24 June
Nearest airport: Genova, 59 km away
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📅 Every year, on 24 June
Varese Ligure celebrates Saint John the Baptist on 24 June; his church stands in the Borgo Rotondo, the unusual circular-plan settlement built by the Fieschi, who in 1492 had their own castle demolished to build its houses.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Varese Ligure, but an easy day trip away.
