Just steps from the historic centre of Varese lies one of the city’s most iconic landmarks; the Giardini Estensi (Estensi Gardens) and Il Palazzo Comunale (the Municipal Palace). The complex dates back to 1776, when Francesco III d’Este, Duke of Modena, purchased the property to create a holiday residence. The architect Giuseppe Antonio Bianchi oversaw the seven-year long expansion and transformation works.
The palace, inspired by Italian villa architecture, has a U-shaped structure made up of several wings. Its elegant and sober pink façade is punctuated by white frames, with a central stone section featuring the coat of arms of Varese.
Inside, rooms reflect the refined style of the Teresian Baroque era. Il Salone d’Onore decorated with illusionistic frescoes by Lodovico Bosellini and a central medallion by Giovan Battista Ronchelli. Going up it is The Scalone d’Onore; a grand staircase that features niches with busts and stucco cherubs holding lamps. On the upper floor is the ballroom; once used for receptions and now for official events, where the duke hosted guests in an atmosphere of elegance and music.
The surrounding gardens, designed as a small Lombard Schönbrunn, are among Varese’s most beloved attractions; designed to host outdoor parties, alternate geometric parterres, terraces, fountains and tree lined avenues that create a harmonious blend of architecture and nature with a strong visual impact. The perspective design guides the gaze from the central avenue and the circular pool, to the radial paths and steps leading to the Belvedere, panoramic point immersed in the green.
The flowerbeds, symmetrical and French styled, are arranged along the main axis that connects the palace to the base of the hill. A part of the park was once transformed into a forest to satisfy the duke’s hunting passion, planted with oaks, elms and chestnuts with a traditional bird trap for trapping birds.