The old Valganna tramline, a treasure to discover by bicycle

The old Valganna tramline goes through beautiful countryside, but is tough to travel along. It used to connect Varese to Luino, but now can be rediscovered, with all the due calm and safety. At least this is what is being suggested by a new project that was presented this morning in a place that would, itself, have a lot to say, the disused “Bettole” station, in Viale Aguggiari, Varese.

“A few local councils in the north of the Province have already planned to renovate the section of the tramline that passes through their towns,” explained the architects Ilaria Gorla and Francesco Villa. However, there is still no supramunicipal coordination of the work.

Not far from Varese, there are also several cycle paths, which follow the course of the old railways, the Manate-Grandate and Valmorea lines, and the cycle path that goes from Castiglione Olona to Castellanza. The aim of this proposal is to link up the various routes safely.”

The project came out of the plan for “Sustainable  Mobility in Lombardy”, which was produced by the regional association of architects, in preparation for the Expo. The details were illustrated this morning by the sponsors (FIAB Ciclocittà Varese, the association of architects, the association 2A+P, and ACTL) with the support of historical photographic material and a documentary made by Paolo Ricciardi.

The president of “Ciclocittà Varese” Beppe Ferrari said, “The message we want to give today is one of bringing back to life something of the past, but with a view to the future”. Today, cycling in some parts of the Province really does mean running the risk of being hurt, some areas have been designed only for cars. We must sensitise the authorities, so that cycling is considered when planning a town and main roads.”