Town in the province of Milan, Bareggio is located West of Milan in the natural reserve "Fontanile Nuovo", forty acres of protected area that offer a typical example of the lowlands of the Po territories.
The area was inhabited in pre-Roman times by the Insubres Gauls that prevailed on the Etruscans between the VI and V centuries B.C., they settled in the area between the Ticino and the Adda, which since then was inhabited by sparse settlements of Ligurian people. The town's name derives from "Barasia," a term that in the Middle Ages meant wildlands. After the fall of the Roman Empire, it suffered the Lombard domination, first, and the French one , then. For a long period the town was under the jurisdiction of the abbot of the Basilica of Saint Ambrose of Milan. It is mentioned for the first time in a document of 780, relative to an exchange of funds.
Not to miss:
- The Parish Church of Saints Nazario and Celso, originally in Romanesque style, was built in the XIII century, the present building is a reconstruction of the XVIII century and enlarged in 1880;
- The Church of Santa Maria in the Brughiera (Heath), near the old farmhouse in the Brughiera, was built in the XV century in an area of spectacular scenic beauty, in the XVIII century it was enlarged with a square bell tower;
- The Church of Santa Maria della Neve, a fine XVIII century building with a contemporary bell tower.
Among the civil buildings, stand out:
- Palazzo Visconti di Mondrone Radice Fossati, present seat of The Town Hall, which preserves inside part of the XVIII century decor and furnishings, a magnificent Baroque staircase with balustrade and columns made of granite;
- Villa Gallina Radice Fossati, a classic example of a mansion, famous for its gardens;
- Villa Sormani Fumagalli Marietti, home of the Academy of Arcata, and dating from the XVII century;
- Villa Vittadini (XIX century).