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varallo |
| Some 50km by train north of Novara, VARALLO marks the beginning of
northern Piemonte's more picturesque reaches, surrounded by steep wooded
hills and filled with Art Deco villas and Baroque palazzi . It's a
pretty place in itself, very pleasant for a short visit, but most people
come to see the sanctuary of Sacro Monte , just outside the town and
connected by bus five times daily from the train station. If you've only come for Sacro Monte you could make straight there from the station; if you want to see the town first - and it is worth a wander - the centre is a five-minute walk to the right along Corso Roma. On the way you pass the church of San Gaudenzio , anchored to a creeper-covered cliff and surrounded by arcades. It's less impressive inside, though there's a polyptych by the sixteenth-century Varallo-born artist Gaudenzio Ferrari, responsible for much of the work at Sacro Monte. The main street, Corso Umberto I , lined with shuttered and balconied palaces, winds through the town from here towards the River Serio. There's more work by Gaudenzio Ferrari in the church of Madonna delle Grazie , off to the north of Corso Umberto I at the end of Via Don Maio, where an entire wall is covered with colourful and detailed scenes from the life of Christ. The tourist office is at Corso Roma 38 (Tues-Sun except some winter Sundays 9am-1pm & 3-7pm; tel 0163.51.280 or 0163.53.091). If you want to stay over in Varallo, try the Monte Rosa at Via Regaldi 4 (tel 0163.51.100; L90,000-120,000/46.48-61.98), a wonderful, friendly, rambling old hotel a brisk five-minute walk away from the town centre. For food , the restaurant Fra Dolcino , opposite the station in Piazza Marconi 3, does falafel, couscous and kebabs, as well as good pizzas (closed Thurs). |