Lago di Varese & the Island of Isolino Virginia
Lago di Varese is the quieter, less-visited sibling of the famous lakes nearby, and it rewards the curious with cycling paths along its reedy shores, birdwatching hides and a genuinely remarkable secret: a tiny island that has been continuously inhabited since the Neolithic period. Isolino Virginia is the oldest pile-dwelling site in Italy.
Cycling the Lakeshore
A largely flat cycling and walking path circles much of the lake, passing through the small towns of Gavirate and Biandronno and offering uninterrupted views across the water to the Campo dei Fiori massif. Bikes can be rented in Gavirate.
The northern shore at sunset, with the Alps reflected in the still water and herons standing motionless in the shallows, is one of those scenes that makes you reach for your camera before you have even consciously registered how beautiful it is.
Isolino Virginia: Italy's Oldest Inhabited Island
Boats to Isolino Virginia depart from Biandronno on summer weekends, making the five-minute crossing to an island where pile-dwellings were built as early as 5,000 BCE. The small on-site museum displays Bronze Age tools, pottery and jewellery excavated from the lake bed — it is genuinely world-class archaeology in a completely unassuming setting.
The island is part of the UNESCO 'Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps' site. Even if the museum is closed, the crossing itself and the view back to the mainland across the reed beds is worth the trip.
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