Ticino Valley

River Ticino offers numerous possibilities of relaxing walks into the green of its park, scattered with artificial channels, bridges and water meanders.

Impressive landscapes and the possibility to practice excursions on foot or by bike along the river and the nearby channels.

River Ticino’s source lies in Switzerland, in Passo della Novena (Nufenen), and it extends on the Southwestern Province of Varese. It is an effluent of Lake Maggiore, marking the border with the Piedmont Province of Novara. The constant presence of waters, along with the position of the valley, favored human settlement along the shores since ancient times (IX century b.C. civility of Golasecca). Navigation was for long time of central importance.

Our path slopes through the Lombard Park of the Ticino Valley and starts from the Volandia Park and Aviation Museum in Somma Lombardo, adjacent to the International Airport of Milano Malpensa. Hosted in a former establishment of the Officine Aeronautiche Caproni, the museum is divided into seven areas and tells the story of the conquest of the skies, from the first attempts in the beginning of the twentieth century to the latest space flights. Remaining on the aeronautic subject, Cascina Costa, a hamlet of the Municipality of Samarate, hosts Villa Agusta, a must-see for fans of helicopters.

Otherwise, we may head for Busto Arsizio: at the turn of the Twentieth century, the rapid industrial development of the area brought the town – renamed as “the Manchester of Italy” – to see a remarkable diffusion of Liberty-style buildings and art déco, which are still admirable today while strolling along its streets. Afterwards we will stop in Gallarate, whose center still witnesses a long history: the city in fact dates back to the Celtic-Gallic period, after which the city was named. The MAGA is also worth a visit: it’s the Museum of Arts of Gallarate, which hosts over 5,000 works from middle Twentieth century until today.

From here we reach the Northern part of the Lombard Park of Ticino Valley, heading for Arsago Seprio, to admire the prestigious Roman Basilica of S. Vittore, dating back to the Ninth century, and its little later Baptistery. Our itinerary ends where it began, in Somma Lombardo, where we may visit the prestigious Castle Visconti di San Vito and what remains of the ancient towpaths, a “horse railway” built in the Nineteenth century to improve circulation of goods between Milan and Lake Maggiore: once reached the chief town, the ships made most of their return trip on board of horse-drawn wagons.