What is Varzi known for?

Recognized by Europe in 1996, one of Italy's first cured-meat DOPs, with 503,561 certified salami produced in 2023. The Apennine feudal family held Varzi from 1164, leaving the thirteenth-century Witches' Tower and the castle remains. Medieval salt-trade route through the Apennine from the Po plain to the Ligurian coast, the reason salami was invented here.

Varzi is a comune in the province of Pavia, Lombardy region of Italy, about 66 kilometers from Piacenza.

Lombardy · Pavia

Varzi

A medieval Malaspina townin the Staffora valley of the Oltrepò Pavese, the seat of one of Italy's first DOP cured meats.

66 km / 41 mi

Nearest hub (Piacenza)

3,008

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

Varzi sitsin the Staffora valley of the Oltrepò Pavese, a strip of Lombard Apennine that runs south toward Genova rather than north toward Milano. The name comes from the Ligurian root Var, meaning torrent. In 1164 the village fell under the Malaspina, the Apennine feudal family who held it as part of their network of upland fiefdoms; the Malaspina tower, called the Torre delle Streghe, dates to the thirteenth century. The Via del Sale ran through Varzi from the Po plain to the Ligurian coast, and the salami invented to feed traders on that route is now one of Italy's first DOP cured meats: Salame di Varzi, recognized by Europe in 1996, produced by a handful of small companies in and around the town. The 2023 production was 503,561 certified salami. The second Sunday in June, the Sagra del Salame fills the medieval streets. The Sant'Alberto di Butrio hermitage, fourteen kilometers south through the Apennine, is the older religious anchor of the valley.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Varzi 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.

Plan your trip

Gallery

5 photos · scroll →

Known for

Torre delle Streghe
Thirteenth-century Malaspina tower in the centro storico, also called the Witches' Tower, the surviving keep of the medieval defenses.
Castello dei Malaspina
Remains of the Malaspina castle, the seat of the feudal family that held Varzi from 1164 onward.
Centro storico medievale
Stone streets and arched passages of the medieval borgo, with the surviving village gates from the defensive walls.
Chiesa dei Cappuccini
Capuchin church on the edge of the centro storico, with the convent that served the Apennine community.
Mercato del salame
Salami shops and producers along the centro storico streets, the centre of the Salame di Varzi DOP production cluster.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the right window for the Staffora valley. Mild evenings, dry trails into the surrounding Apennine, and the salami shops in full production. The Sagra del Salame on the second Sunday of June fills the centro storico. July and August reach the high twenties; the borgo holds shade between two and six, and many Milanese keep summer houses in the hills. November through March is quiet. The valley fogs, snow falls on the higher passes, and the village belongs to the 3,000 residents and the production calendar of the DOP. Salami are stuffed in winter and cured into spring.