Liguria · Savona
Varazze
A Ligurian shipbuilding town whose thirteenth-century friar compiled the saint lives that became the most copied book in Europe after the Bible.
Known for
LEGENDA AUREA
Jacopo da Varagine, born here around 1228, compiled the Latin saint lives that became Europe's most copied book after the Bible.
SHIPYARDS
Medieval port of the marquisate of Bosco that built the boats fought over by Savona and Genova; the yachting industry runs on the same ground.
BEIGUA
Mount Beigua at 1,287 meters and its UNESCO Geopark sit directly behind the beach, an unusual coast-to-mountain gradient.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Caterina da Siena, 30 April
Why come
Varazze sits between Mount Beigua and the sea, 30 kilometers west of Genova in the Riviera di Ponente. The town grew around the Roman station of Ad Navalia and became the main port of the marquisate of Bosco, disputed for centuries between Savona and Genova because of its shipyards. Jacopo da Varagine was born here around 1228 in the Casanova district.
As a Dominican friar and later archbishop of Genova, he compiled the Legenda Aurea, a Latin collection of saint biographies that survived in roughly 1,400 manuscript codices through the Middle Ages, second only to the Bible in circulation. The parish Collegiate Church of Sant'Ambrogio holds a panel by Luca Cambiaso, one of the greatest Ligurian painters of the sixteenth century. Mount Beigua rises to 1,287 meters at the town's back. The economy still works shipyards, yachting and tourism in roughly that order.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Varazze’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Chiesa Collegiata di Sant'Ambrogio
Parish collegiate church with Romanesque-Gothic three-mullioned bell tower, Baroque façade, polyptych by Giovanni Barbagelata and a panel by Luca Cambiaso.
Parco Naturale del Beigua
UNESCO Geopark covering Mount Beigua at 1,287 meters, the highest peak in the range, with trails connecting the coast to the entroterra.
Centro storico
Medieval grid behind the shipyards with surviving sections of the old town walls and the Casanova district where Jacopo da Varagine was born.
Lungomare Europa
Long seafront promenade along the Riviera di Ponente coast, Bandiera Blu beach, marina at the eastern end.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Varazze fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Living here
- Population 12,534
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Genoa, 40 min drive
- Regional capital Genova, 45 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 10 m
- Population: 12,534
- Surface area: 48 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Featured on
Varazze appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Close by
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