What to see and what to do in Val di Vara

The “David Beghè” Art Gallery is located inside the Doria Malaspina castle in Calice. The museum was established on 7 July 1992 to support the works of art by the great painter David Beghe. 28 oil works are exhibited, while, as far as its frescoes are concerned, the largest part were photographed and then exhibited.

It is a building built for the defensive purpose around the 11th century. Today the castle is home to municipal, tourist offices and the Environmental Education Center. But it also hosts other institutions. In fact, on the remaining two floors there is the Beekeeping Museum, the David Beghe Picture Gallery and the Pietro Rosa Museum. It is still in excellent condition, tourists can see it in its original structure.

So called for its circular structure. An ellipse of small and thin houses, characterized by a low porch, describes a round square still occupied by a core of taller houses. The whole structure dates back to the fourteenth century, when Varese was already a nerve center for commerce and communication routes, conceived by the Fieschi for military and merchant purposes.

The Fieschi Castle consists of two imposing towers, called by Piccinino and Landi. The fortress was the residence of the Podestà from the 16th to the 18th century and then became a private home. Currently you can visit the prisons below, the presentation hall and the walkways of the buttress.

The Farmer Museum located in the municipality of Varese Ligure was built in 1975 and renovated in 2005. Inside we can admire objects that were used by citizens and that belong to the late nineteenth century period.

The Permanent Historical-Archaeological Exhibition is located within the environments of the school of Pieve di Zignago. The museum is divided into three rooms and displays photographic materials related to the excavation campaigns, inhabited already in prehistoric times.