Ranco is a comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

(municipality) on the shore of Lago Maggiore in the Province of Varese

Province of Varese

The Province of Varese is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese but its largest city is Busto Arsizio....

 in the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 region Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

, located about 60 km northwest of Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 and about 20 km west of Varese

Varese

Varese is a town and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km north of Milan.It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or urban part of the city is called Varesotto.- Geography :...

. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,188 and an area of 6.3 km².

The village has a Guide Michelin acclaimed restaurant (Il sole di Ranco) and a Transport Museum.
The municipality of Ranco contains the frazione

Frazione

A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...

(subdivision) Uponne.

Ranco borders the following municipalities: Angera

Angera

Angera is a town and comune located in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. In Roman times, under the name of Angleria, it was an important lake port and road station. Angera received the title of city by Duke Ludovico il Moro of October 7, 1497. Today its major feature...

, Ispra

Ispra

Ispra is a comune and small town on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore, in the province of Varese .Some of the main Institutes of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission are located there, including the Institute for the Protection and the Security of the Citizen , the Institute for...

, Lesa

Lesa

Lesa is a comune in the Province of Novara in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about 110 km northeast of Turin and about 45 km north of Novara...

, Meina

Meina

Meina is a comune in the Province of Novara in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Novara, on Lake Maggiore....

.