The riddles of Castelseprio. Castiglione Olona – the Renaissance era in Lombardy
In the 5th century, under the pressure of the barbarians, the Roman Empire will fall. But what will happen next? The so-called ‘dark years’ – invasions of the Goths, Visigoths, and Lombards.
We invite you to return to the distant past and visit the ancient Castrum.
Castelseprio is a Roman fortress that was occupied by the Lombards and turned by them into a fairly important settlement on the road from Milan to Varese and further to the lakes of Maggiore or Lugano. However, in 1287, troops led by Ottone Visconti, the archbishop and ruler of Milan, stormed this fortified town, destroyed it, and did not allow it to be rebuilt. For some time, the ruins of the Basilica of John the Evangelist, the baptistery, and the Church of Saint Apostle Paul, founded by the Lombards in the 5th-6th centuries, stood on this site, but they have not survived to this day, and a small Church of Saint Mary outside the gates, the remnants of a monastery, and a defensive tower in front of the fortress have been preserved. In 1944, frescoes were uncovered in the Church of Saint Mary – which had been used as a warehouse – that scholars still debate about and call some of the most mysterious in Italy. Some say they are from the 9th century, some from the 7th, and some even from an earlier period.
Castiglione Olona is called a corner of Tuscany in Lombardy, and this happened thanks to one of the owners of the medieval village, Cardinal Branda Castiglione. The Castigliones have owned these lands since the 11th century, and they have given Italy many outstanding figures. Branda Castiglione, one of the most famous among them, was a cardinal, politician, humanist, patron of the arts, and a caring lord in his possessions.
In addition to the magnificent frescoes of one of the founders of the Renaissance – the Tuscan Masolino in the baptistery, you will also find the cardinal’s palace.
You can also specify the attractions you would like to visit.
