A PROVINCE TO BE EXPLORED - Visita Milano

Desio
Municipal website: www.comune.desio.mi.it
Distance from Monza: 8 km. Distance from Milan: 21 km
Map reference: D 3
Desio lies northwest of Monza, an area known as
the “furniture -making pole”, on the Valassina
road, traced along the Roman road that linked Milan
to Brianza. Excavations have confirmed the existence
of the settlement not only in R oman times
but also in a previous epoc h with the presence of
Celtic-Ligurian peoples. The area’s Christianisation
is shown by the founding of the Basilica of Ss. Siro
e Materno in 649 by Bishop Giovanni Bono. T he
present place of worship was built in the 1 7th and
18th centuries (arc hitects Pellegrini, Ciniselli, Merlo
and Galliori) and the apse area extended at the
end of the last century (architects Leveni and Cesa
Bianchi). The interior features a series of 19th- and
20th-century paintings by Mauro Conconi and
Giuseppe Riva of Bergamo.
Ss. Siro e Materno, detail of
the 15th-century bell tower
The Basilica of Ss. Siro e Materno
Monza and its province
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