A PROVINCE TO BE EXPLORED - Visita Milano

Western Brianza
its stately homes and its monasteries
Until the mid-17th century the western section of what is today’s province
presented features typical of many parts of Lombardy: a dense medieval
network of religious buildings; early 16th-century embellishments;
a systematic restyling commenced in the late 16th century; and the gradual
conversion of medieval fortresses and houses to 16th-century mansions.
The most salient moments in this long history are the amazing 14thcentury
frescoes in S. Stefano in Lentate sul Seveso and the remains of
those (now in Brera) of the nearby and coeval Mocchirolo; the 15th-century
Crucifixion in Villa Clerici, also in Lentate; the Renaissance frescoes
in S. Damiano in Cogliate; the large 15th-16th century complex of S. Vittore
in Meda, with a Pietà by Andrea da Milano, the huge frescoed cycle
and the 17th-century altarpiece by Cerano; the Luini-style fresco in Barlassina;
the 16th-century cycle of Ss. Rocco e Sebastiano in Seregno;
and the 16th-17th century reconstruction of the sanctuary of Lazzate.
The reconstruction of Palazzo Arese (later Borromeo) in Cesano Maderno
commenced in 1652 was a crucial achievement in Lombard art: the
huge palazzo belonging to Bartolomeo III Arese, president of the Senate
in Milan and of the Consejo de Italia in Madrid, constitutes a microcosm
in which political needs, cultural development trends and the latest artistic
fashions came together in the name of a strong scientific and naturalistic
Monza and its province
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