HISTORY
Varese's area played a notable commercial role during the Roman Age, due to its closeness to Castel Seprio. Castel Seprio is a plateau in the Olona Valley, surrounded by two deep valleys that give the place a unique and characteristic look. It was a strategic point due to its natural defences. Furthermore, its location on the secondary arm of the "Comum - Novaria" road gave the "castrum" additional relevance. This road was built in the 3rd century to facilitate troop movements against barbarian attacks from the other side of the Alps. The secondary arm of the road was also a connection with Novara. The Roman "castrum" was initially a reference place for moving troops and a point of acoustical and visual signals for the Lario and the Verbano regions. However, for the above mentioned reasons, it became more and more important. Its relevance grew when it became a Parish. During the Middle Age the Varese's province included the parishes of, Varese and Castel Seprio. Contrarily to Varese, Seprio is quite far from the lake and possessed its own military and administrative organization. The military centre of the county was Castel Seprio. Nowadays it is possible to visit the ruins of the "castrum" walls and of a fortress. The archaeological remains of two churches and of a font are also conserved. The last one is the real characteristic of the parish, since all the inhabitants of the parish had to go to Castel Seprio for Baptism. The nearby church of Santa Maria "foris portas" is interesting too. It was originally a refuge for wayfarers travelling from Milan to Germany. In the church there is a series of frescoes based on the apocryphal Gospels and representing the childhood of Jesus. The author was an oriental artist of the IXth century. The discovery of these frescoes by Gian Piero Bognetti in 1944 was an international event. Torba was the external line of defence of the Roman-Longobard "castrum". It stands on the Castel Seprio plateau and elongates toward the Olona Valley. As a consequence, an additional "castrum" wall including the Santa Maria Church (VIIIth - XIIIth century) and the imposing tower (Vth - VIth century) of Torba was built. The present owner of Torba is the FAI (the Italian Environmental Foundation) which assigned the appropriate value to these monuments and restored them thanks to public and private contributions. Military forts to guard the Olona Valley are in Cairate and Caronno Corbellaro too. The last one belongs to the municipality of Castiglione Olona. These towns still preserve some Middle Age remains. Castiglione Olona passed through the different war episodes of the Seprio County until 1287, when Castel Seprio was completely destroyed. Castiglione Olona belongs to Castel Seprio not only as a part of the county, but also because its name derives from the barbarian commander Stilicone. Presumably the transformation of Castel Seprio into a strong fortress and into a refuge for the nearby people is due to Stilicone. According to a local tradition he also contributed to the foundation of Castiglione Olona. The name "Castiglione Olona" may derive from "Castrum Stiliconis". However, it may also come from "Castrum Legionis", "Castellum", or "Castellonum", that is big castle. None of these hypotheses has been verified. Finally, the Royal Decree of 8 February 1873, gave the municipality of Castiglione the present name Castiglione Olona. A written document of 1068 describes a "wall-strengthened castle" that is the Collegiata's perimeter. The only way to the fortress was the one that is used today. The Olona River constitutes the natural defense of the other sides. The ancient fortress definitely loses its military role by the end of the XIIIth century. Some ruins of it are still visible by entering the church square. A careful look also reveals the connections of a draw-bridge and some ruins of the walls, mostly hindered by the vegetation.
Page updated on June.10.01
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Parrocchia di Castiglione Olona, 21043 Castiglione Olona (VA), ITALY . tel. 0331-850280