published in 1914, already recommended travelling to Varese on the
Porto Ceresio railway,
which, in 1905,
had been taken over by the Ferrovia dello Stato (FS – State Railway company). The line was intended to be âchosen by the Ferrovia Nord railway company,
because the equipment (trains etc.)
was more comfortable and fasterâ, thanks to electrical power.
Gone was the smoking steam locomotive that blew ash and soot onto the spotless dresses of the Milanese ladies;
the people went to Central Station, outside the gate of Porta Venezia (now Piazza Repubblica) and looked for the platform for Varese, without getting too close to the panting black locomotives. And the number of journeys from Milan to the foothills of Varese (twenty trains a day, and more!) made the ride comfortable even for short stays.