A Journey through Liberty Buildings

A journey in search, and in contemplation, of the Liberty movement must start from Varese, which was already known and famous in the 1800's and 1900's as a popular tourist destination, because of the beauty of its landscapes. It is no coincidence that, in what is known as the Garden City par excellence, and an open-air museum of Liberty architecture, great tourist facilities and hotels were built, including the Grand Hotel in Campo dei Fiori and the Palace Grand Hotel in Varese, which were designed by Giuseppe Sommaruga, one of the most important exponents of the Liberty movement. Also the communication routes were affected by the style of the period, for example, the tramway and the funicular railway, which, thanks to an intermodal system linked with the railway, allowed visitors to reach Santa Maria del Monte and Campo dei Fiori, from Milan, in record time for the day. Several villas were also built in this style, throughout the province, for the wealthy middle class of the day, for example, Villa Bollani, Villa Agosteo, Villa Magnani, in the Varese area, and Villa Ottolini, Villa Leone, Villa Ferrario, in Busto Arsizio, and Villa Marelli, in Gallarate. There are several, original industrial buildings, such as the Poretti brewery, in Induno Olona, the Marzoli Massari mills, in Busto Arsizio, the Borgomaneri factory in Gallarate, and other buildings that provide a variety of services, such as the nursery school, in Bregazzana. Funeral art is a separate chapter in this story. The monumental cemeteries of Varese, Busto Arsizio and Gallarate are home to artworks and small masterpieces from that period. They often depict traditional themes, such as life, death, pain and lost family love, portrayed by more or less, important an known artists. So, the Liberty architecture in Varese Province is expressed in works that have a variety of functions, particularly in the more productive and densely populated areas.