A PROVINCE TO BE EXPLORED - Visita Milano

Mezzago
Municipal website: www.comune.mezzago.mi.it
Pro Loco: via Stefano Biffi 28. Tel. and fax: 0396020288
Website: www.prolocomezzago.it E-mail: info@prolocomezzago.it
Distance from Monza: 17 km. Distance from Milan: 32 km. Map reference: D 6
Farms
Il gelso (“Le Solvette” area,
sales outlet via Matteotti 5,
tel. 3407772992, T uesday
and Friday, 1 to 7pm, Saturday
9-noon. Contact: via
Unione 3, tel. 3389219171,
info@azilgelso.it, www.azil
gelso.it). Production and
sale of organic, seasonal
vegetables.
Rino di Gualtiero Mattavelli
(via Don Minzoni 8/c, tel.
3472232288, fax 039602
2812, info@agricolarino.it,
www.agricolarino.it. Sales
outlet, via Marconi 1). Asparagus
and some other
fruit and veg. Sale of asparagus
in April and May.
La Valle del Re (sales outlet
via Vite Lunga 1, tel. 347
4003642, fax 0396010
707, info@lavalledelre.it,
www.lavalledelre.it). Corn,
wheat and pink asparagus.
Sales outlet open all year
(pink asparagus available in
April and May).
CAAM - Cooperativa Agricola
Asparagicoltori Mezzago
(sales outlet via V itelunga
1, tel. 3473403457).
Mezzago was originally a farming village centred
on the churches of S. Vittore (no longer
around) and S. Maria (current parish church) and
the tower of Palazzo Archinto. Cereal crops were
widely grown, although the local c hestnuts, oak,
hazelnut and durmast woods also provided an important
source of income. In the 15th century, following
the wars between the Visconti family and
the Venetians, the Mezzago area was s acked and
suffered severely from diseases, resulting in a substantial
decrease in the population.
Some of the old dwellings, called ‘ sedine’, are
still around, suc h as the Cascina Orobona. This
particular structure is typical of residences centred
on a well in a courtyard, with the living quarters,
stables, barns and haylofts all around. The De Corte
and Biffi families were the prominent families in the
area. In the second half of the 1 7th century, mulberries
caught on as a crop along with breeding
silkworms. Today, this area is known for its asparagus,
but this was only introduced in the 19 30s.
Palazzo Archinto stands in the town centre and
was once home to the Jesuits. From 1779, it housed
numerous noble families, starting with the Archintos.
The tower – except for the 18th-century last
floor or b elfry – and many of the older parts are
from the 12th century, when the complex housed
a thriving community of monks from the Humiliati
order. The monks were famous wool makers.
The parish church of S. Maria Assunta was
built in the 18th century. It has two notable
chapels in the left aisle, one dedicated to the Pietà
and the other is where the Maggi family is buried.
The old centre is also home to the Oratory of S.
Gerolamo, founded by the De Corte family in
Monza and its province
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