On entering the town we should first visit the Church of San Pietro, found outside the historical centre: its Romanesque bell tower is one of the finest in the northern part of the Varese region. It is also the first of a series of bell towers sharing the characteristic stylistic Romanesque traits of the Valtravaglia (the large valley between Lake Maggiore and the Lake of Lugano) which we shall come across on this itinerary along Lake Maggiore. This church, rebuilt during the XVII century in Baroque style, conserves a number of frescoes in the right aisle which are datable to the XIV-XV centuries.
A stroll along the lakeside is a must although one should not forget to visit the town's historical centre. In doing this it is possible to mentally retrace the descriptions made of the town by Piero Chiara and Vittorio Sereni, two exceptional writers from Luino.
Here we propose a passage from Piatto piange by Chiara and two poems from Frontiera [Frontier] by Sereni which besides being masterful pieces in their own right seem to us to portray three aspects of Luino with considerable efficacy, a place both real although at the same time metaphysical.
Historically speaking Luino can probably claim protohistoric origins and it was also frequented during Imperial Roman times.
Relegated to playing a secondary role during the Middle Ages, 'hemmed in' as it was between Maccagno and the Valtravaglia, the town became more important in the zone when in 1541 Charles V awarded the town of Luino the right to hold a market. In this respect Luino alternated its own market with that held in Maccagno on a weekly basis: the latter, bestowed with greater privileges, had up until this time enjoyed the exclusive market right on this shore of Lake Maggiore. Notwithstanding alternating vicissitudes with the competition represented by Laveno (which aspired to obtain the same prerogative), this concession was definitively confirmed in 1786. From this date onwards the market has been held in Luino every Wednesday.