Palace Grand Hotel Varese

The Palace Grand Hotel Varese (ex Kursaal) is a hotel located in Varese on the Campigli hill, an example of monumental liberty building.
The hotel was designed by Giuseppe Sommaruga in 1911 and built in two years. The complex (which initially included a funicular line, a theater, clay pigeon shooting, arcades and various other entertainments) was seriously mutilated in the Second World War: some bombs destined for the Aermacchi plant, which stood at the foot of Colle Campigli, in April 1944, they destroyed the Kursaal complex and the funicular, leaving intact only the upper station of the latter (now used as a gym) and the foundations. Fortunately, the hotel was spared.
Unlike other Varese accommodation facilities (such as the Grand Hotel Campo dei Fiori), the Palace was not excessively affected by the post-World War II tourist crisis, managing to continue its business. In 2013, the management was entrusted to the "Società Grandi Hotel", owned by the Castiglioni family. In 2016, the property was owned by the Milanese company "finalba Secondo s.p.a." with hotel management by the company "GHP" (finalba group).
The hotel is accessed from the central via Silvestro Sanvito, via a winding road (via Luciano Manara) which climbs up the Campigli hill. Along the climb you can see an anonymous gray semicircular stone structure: the foundations of the aforementioned Kursaal, destroyed in 1944 by the bombing of nearby Aermacchi. During the ascent, the hotel remains hidden from view by a thick pine forest, revealing itself only once you reach the top of the hill.
The structure of the hotel has essentially remained the same conceived by Sommaruga in 1911: a massive parallelepiped, with mortar-colored walls, without plaster, with a side tower, which give it the appearance of a manor. Some windows have balconies, the railings of which are the work of Alessandro Mazzucotelli, as are the roof gutters and street lamps in the surrounding park.
On the side of the tower, a covered walkway leads to the old funicular station. You can still see the structures of the old train line, also destroyed by the bombs of 1944.

Andrea Speziali recognizes a fitting tribute to the building in the monograph "Giuseppe Sommaruga (1867-1917). A protagonist of Liberty", CartaCanta publisher 2017.