Monza and Brianza with Brambilla’s family Routes, gastronomy, culture and sport www.provincia.mb.it PROVINCIA MONZA BRIANZA www.visitbrianza.it Monza and Brianza with Brambilla’s family Routes, gastronomy, culture and sport www.provincia.mb.it PROVINCIA MONZA BRIANZA www.visitbrianza.it Introduction The guidebook on Monza and the Brianza area proposes routes and itineraries organized by the “Brambilla family” for discover- ing the gastronomical, historical and cultural aspects of a ter- ritory, homeland to small and medium enterprises, which wel- comed and was the birthplace of many famous people, from Leonardo da Vinci to Stendhal, from Alessandro Manzoni to Gi- useppe Parini: the Brianza region. Talking about tourism in Brianza may be considered a challenge, a taboo to overcome. For this reason we are now proposing a new and different approach for getting to know our territory, with an easy-to-use and handy guidebook able to stimulate and give a new lease of life to Brianza’s treasures. Not a didac- tic guidebook, like the many crowding the bookstores, but a tool able to help tourists to discover by themselves what the territory offers, with the aim of making the most of its gems, products and traditions, combining visits, events and sightsee- ing itineraries. Follow the members of the “Brambilla family”’ and, thanks to their heterogeneity, you will get to know the several crown Province of Monza and Brianza jewels that embellish our territory: from cultural resources to Via Napoleone Bonaparte 2 beautiful landscapes, from the major sites of artistic, historic Mombello di Limbiate (MB) and architectural interest to industrial archaeology. You will Tel. 039.97.52.560/61 www.provincia.mb.it discover a number of the delightful villas which characterize www.visitbrianza.it Brianza, along with trails and sites of faith, nature reserves and sports oases. Design and copyright Luca Mariani, Camilla Ronzullo The purpose of this Guidebook is to fully enhance the potential our territory holds and to introduce authentic Brianza through Graphic design and texts Sole di Vetro its products and its traditions. Focus is on quality, on the most Via Donizetti 50, Monza (MB) genuine value and essence of the area itself - the key is informal www.soledivetro.it and fun. Sites are approached and visited by experiencing and Images enjoying them, absorbing their very pace and nature: just like Sole di Vetro, Shutterstock, Giovanni Novara (p. 47) tourist-explores do. Tourism in Brianza, so much to discover! Print Arti Grafiche Meroni © Province of Monza and Brianza - Edition: January 2012 Dario Allevi Andrea Monti PUBLICATION NOT FOR SALE President Councillor for Tourism CREATED FOR THE PROVINCE OF MONZA AND BRIANZA 2 3 Before leaving let’s take a look at the map Map of the territory of the province 5 4 What can three Brambillas and a Beretta do on a summer holiday? That is easy; they plan a trip around the beautiful Province of Monza and Brianza! The Brambillas – Caterina, Giuseppe and their daughter Simona – are a really nice, not ordinary and loving family. Marco Beretta, their daughter’s boyfriend, follows them in all their legendary ad- ventures, always enduring the girl’s troubles as well as her endless reproaches. The next few pages are about a day spent with this likeable bunch in the most representative places of the Province. The four of them leave Monza early in the morning and are back Enjoy your trip in the evening for Caterina’s delicious sausage risotto (risotto alla luganega). As this area is so rich in great walks, leisure options and opportunities for learning more about the territory, at the end of every single stage, the readers have the opportunity to decide with the the next destination, following the Brambilla’s adventures or guid- ing them. The mechanism of this guidebook game will enable the readers to get to know the Provinces’s most scenic sights, its prod- ucts and unique features. Starting from square one, in Monza, and Brambilla family following the suggestions listed at the end of each visit, the trip combinations multiply , according to the number of options the Giüsep territory and its wonders hold for residents and tourists. Marco Simo Caterina If you are in Monza, in the Arengario area, you may come across Giuseppe. Even today he has decided to start his trip around Monza Arengario and Brianza surroundings from here. This building always triggers mixed feelings: it was the place where he used to meet Caterina, his wife, when they were still courting. But, as time went by, and The Arengario is the city’s true vibrant heart. Set at misunderstandings built up, Giuseppe often took against it, cursing the centre of Piazza Roma square, it seems its embat- it for all the times it had been the setting for their appointments! He happened to be in front of it also that time that Caterina would tled bell tower is watching over the close-knit network just not stop talking. He then took her by the arm and led her to of streets roads and alleyways that converge there. A the southern facade of the building: he pointed at a tiny stone loggia, the Parlèra, the place where all the City’s decrees were role that can be explained by its history. This stun- once read out, and said to her, in a mocking tone, that that was ning example of civil architecture, which dates from the place for her, for good. Caterina did not take it well, but the fog was thick that evening, all those years ago, and a delicious, the thirteenth and fourteenth century (when it housed and still warm, milk cake was waiting for them at home, so she pretended indifference and clung onto her husband’s arm, disap- the town hall), was the setting for the loud, pearing with him in the cold winter. Giuseppe smiles cherishing this colorful and scented memory: down deep he is a romantic soul. city market that 1. Do you want Giuseppe to join his wife at the Duomo of Monza? was held under its Go to page 12. 2. Giuseppe is pretty angry today! Just before joining Caterina arcades... It is still at the Duomo of Monza, he argued with her over the phone. a meeting point today If you want to avoid further trouble, send him straight to Cornate d’Adda, on page 50. and on its first floor 3. Are you curious to know where Simona, Caterina and Gi- useppe’s daughter, is? Join her at Monza, on page 16. there is a huge space where temporary dis- plays take place. A typical snack in Brianza? Arengario Keep on reading comes from the and you will find out… Germanic hriggs hari (army club) 8 9 Milk cake (or torta paesana) recipe Ingredients (serves 4 people) 4 small stale bread rolls; 1 liter full fat milk; 160 g sugar; 1 egg yolk; salt to taste, 60 g butter; 10 macaroons (amaretti); 5 tablespoon of bitter cocoa powder; 100 g raisins; pine nuts to taste Preparation Cut the stale bread into tiny pieces. Place in a bowl and add the milk (hot); cover the bowl with a plate and allow to soak 3-4 hours. Once ready,, crush the macaroons with the cocoa powder; soak the raisins in hot water and a little Amaretto di Saronno or rum; crush the soft bread with a spoon or a fork and add the macaroon and cocoa mix- ture along with the eggs; then add the sugar and pine nuts. Mix the whole, then add the raisins (drained). Mix again, grease (or line with baking paper) a round baking tin and pour the mixture into it. Bake in a 190 degrees oven for one hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool thoroughly. 11 10 Caterina is in love with the Duomo of Monza: she loves going there often, alone or in company. She knows the Basilica of San Giovan- ni Battista (Saint John the Baptist) better than the back of her own hand! Sometimes, emerging from the narrow maze of streets clustered The Basilica around Piazza del Duomo square, she gets a pang in her heart. Such of Saint John the Baptist, emotion is triggered by the fascination Queen Teodolinda has always exerted over her. In the chapel named after this sovereign, Caterina Duomo of Monza! eagerly examines the frescos that tell her story and admires the famous Iron Crown. Usually, she gets carried away and finds herself wondering through the rooms of the Museum nearby. Centuries and centuries of art follow her silently, and she approaches them with an amazed child- like attitude. This morning, not unlike many others, while immersed in the contemplation of some precious late-Romanesque works, Caterina feels a hand on her shoulder. She jerks as if some alarm clock has just gone off and turns round: Giuseppe’s big smiley face appears just two inches from her own nose! - What have you done? You’re laughing like a child! - My dear wife, what could I have done? - Well, you tell me... OPENING TIMES - Nothing! It’s just I’m happy to see you! Tue-Sun Discussing the very essence of a smile, they reach the car and head for Vimercate. 9am - 1pm and 2pm - 6pm www.museoduomomonza.it 1. Do you want to go to Vimercate with them? Go to page 18. 2. Would you rather join Marco, Simona’s boyfriend? Keep on reading. 3. If you want to try your luck and gather the Brambillas for an aperitif Museum and Treasury of the Duomo in Canonica Lambro, guide all of them to page 30.