Caronno Corbellaro with its open meadows, views over the mountains and historic Chiesetta di San Martino. After this rural village, the road continues downhill to the Castiglione Olona industrial area where a carriage from the Valmorea railway which operated from 1904 to 1977 and linked Castellanza with Mendrisio can be seen.

Castiglione Olona village is truly beautiful and merits a stop.

Founded in the late Roman era, it passed into the hands of the aristocratic Castiglioni family in around the year 1000 and was rebuilt from 1421 to 1441 in accordance with Renaissance ideal city models, at the behest of Cardinal Branda Castiglioni. Here you can visit the Collegiata and Battistero with a fresco cycle painted by Masolino da Panicale and Chiesa del SS. Corpo di Cristo, known as Villa, whose two large sandstone statues depicting saints Anthony and Christopher, on the facade attract the attention. In the central square there is Palazzo Branda Castiglioni, a former cardinal's residence.

When you leave this ‘Tuscan island in Lombardy’, as Gabriele D’Annunzio called it, you can cross the town's late medieval bridge and continue on the Olona valley cycle track and footpath in the direction of Gornate Olona.

3 km further on you get to Monastero di Torba, one of Varese province’s UNESCO heritage sites. Built as a defensive tower linked to the Castelseprio castrum and then made into an oratorium in the 8th century by the nuns who lived here until the mid 15th century, it has been a FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) site since 1977. Inside it features 8th century frescoes and the remains of the historic walls which linked it to the Castelseprio site.

This Olona valley walk is a chance to discover the area’s history and nature with the river ever present and a wide range of birds such as rails, white throated dippers, woodpeckers, kingfishers, robins, blue tits, cormorants and the popular heron ‘Gigi’ for company.

Continuing, you can visit Castelseprio and the remains of its historic castrum but also Chiesetta di S. Maria foris portas with its fresco cycle on Jesus's childhood with scenes taken from the Apocryphal gospels.

TAPPE:

prima tappa: Caronno Corbellaro

seconda tappa: Castiglione Olona

terza tappa: Pista ciclopedonale Valle Olona

quarta tappa: Monastero di Torba