Varenna is a comune (municipality) on Lake Como in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Milan and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of Lecco.

Varenna was founded by local fishermen in 769, and was later allied with the commune of Milan. In 1126 it was destroyed by the rival commune of Como, and later received the refugees from the Isola Comacina, who had met the same fate (1169).

Varenna borders the following municipalities: Esino Lario, Lierna, Oliveto Lario, Perledo. The main sights are the Castello di Vezio, a small museum dedicated to Lariosaurus (a Middle Triassic sea reptile related to turtles), as well as the beautiful gardens at Villa Monastero. Across the lake in the province of Como are: Bellagio, Griante and Menaggio.

Villa Monastero, in between Varenna and Fiumelatte is nowadays a museum, botanical garden and convention center. It was founded as a Cistercian monastery in the 11th or 12th century.

The villa lies south of the village, halfway between Varenna and Fiumelatte, and includes a botanical garden, a museum, and a convention center. The villa hosts summer courses for the "Enrico Fermi" International School of Physics, and has heard lectures by more than thirty-four Nobel Laureates.

A museum house was set up within Villa Monastero, and opened to the public in 2003. It was officially recognized by Lombardy in 2005. The monumental part of the house was already completed by 1996, with 14 rooms featuring original decorations and furniture from its various owners. The museum house has been visited by more than 40,000 guests. The museum house also contains a collection of optical, electronic, and mechanical instruments originally belonging to Giovanni Polvani.

The area is served by Varenna-Esino-Perledo station, on the Tirano–Lecco railway. The passenger building, on the west side of the line, has two storeys in a classic style, embellished by terracotta decorations typical of the line.

The station has two tracks for passenger service. In the past, there was a small freight yard, whose warehouse still exists, and is used as a shop.

The station is served by regional trains on the Calolziocorte-Lecco-Colico-Sondrio line, and RegioExpress trains in on the Milan-Lecco-Sondrio-Tirano line.

The first section of the line, between Sondrio and Colico, was opened in 1885. It was completed in 1892-1894 with the section from Colico to Lecco, where it was connected with the rest of the Italian network.

The section from Tirano to Sondrio had a different origin, being opened in 1902 as a private railway by the Società Anonima per le Ferrovie dell'Alta Valtellina (FAV). It was integrated in the state network in 1970.