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.

Villa Agosteo
Built in 1911, from the design by the engineer Agosteo, this villa is one of the most significant works of Liberty architecture in Varese. The compact shape of the layout features an arrangement of volumes characterised by two advanced volumes covered by pitched roofs supported by exposed wooden beams which form an ideal frame for the elliptical openings on the front. Highlighted by elaborate stucco frames with clearly floral patterns, these openings contain windows decorated with peacock feather patterns and leaves and fruits made of multi-coloured ceramic. The wrought-iron decorations are particularly good quality, especially because of their spider-web patterns on all the balconies and the pass-through iron bands of the gate.

Poretti Brewery in Valganna
The Poretti Brewery complex is one of the rare examples of Liberty-style industrial buildings. Built across the River Olona in the 1880's, the factory began production in 1887. The original core of the factory, which is recognisable from its beautiful external decorations in yellow and grey, has been extended over time, with the addition of new buildings designed to host new equipment and machines. The old cooking room, which is now used as the official meeting room, is particularly beautiful. The elegance of the indoor furnishings, the homogeneous style of the furniture, and the presence of heavily worked cast-iron, load-bearing parts indicate that this was an integrated project that combined function and architectural design.

Grand Hotel, Restaurant and Cableway, at Campo dei Fiori
This tourist complex located at an altitude of 1100 metres was built between 1910 and 1912, on the request of the Società Grandi Alberghi. This tourist complex could be reached from the cities of Milan and Como and from the nearby Switzerland and Lake Maggiore in a short time, thanks to the cableway that left from the first of the Chapels on the sacred path, which still leads to the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Monte. Although the structure is no longer used as a hotel, it is still possible to admire the complexity of its architecture, which is perfectly integrated into the pre-alpine landscape.