Brugherio

Brugherio
Comune
Città di Brugherio
St. Lucius church.
Coat of arms
Brugherio Location of Brugherio in Italy
Coordinates: 45°33′N 9°18′E / 45.550°N 9.300°E
Country	Italy
Region	Lombardy
Province / Metropolitan city	Monza and Brianza (MB)
Frazioni	Baraggia, Dorderio, Moncucco, San Damiano
Government
• Mayor	Marco Antonio Troiano
Area
• Total	10.3 km^2 (4.0 sq mi)
Elevation	123 m (404 ft)
Population (31 December 2010)[1]
• Total	33,484
• Density	3,300/km^2 (8,400/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Brugheresi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	20861
Dialing code	039
Website	Official website

Brugherio (Italian pronunciation: [bruˈɡɛːrjo]) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 14 kilometres (9 miles) northeast of Milan. It was established December 9, 1866 unifying the suppressed municipalities of Baraggia, San Damiano and Moncucco (which nowadays are frazioni of Brugherio), together with the villages of Bindellera, Cesena, Gelosa, San Paolo, Torazza, Occhiate and Increa.^[2][3]

Brugherio borders the following municipalities: Monza, Agrate Brianza, Carugate, Sesto San Giovanni, Cologno Monzese, Cernusco sul Naviglio.

Brugherio received the title of city with a presidential decree on January 27, 1967.

Etymology

The name Brugherio is said to derive from Il Brugo which is Italian for Common Heather. This plant is common on the clay-type soil in the region and it features on the town's coat-of-arms.^[4]

Cityscape

Architecture

Villas

• Villa Fiorita is the building where the Brugherio Comune's headquarters are housed.
• The Palazzo Ghirlanda-Silva (Ghirlanda Silva Mansion) is a patrician building located in the old town. Built in the first half of the nineteenth century, it now houses the public library.
• Villa Sormani is a baroque building in the village of Moncucco. It was the site of the first Italian public balloon ascent by Paolo Andreani in 1784.
• Villa Brivio is a 19th-century building in the Baraggia district. Owned by the Municipality of Brugherio, it houses residential accommodation and a psychiatric center.
• Villa Somaglia-Balconi is a residential complex located in Brugherio, consisting of a main house and some accompanying buildings, which are separated from the original structure of the villa by Via Marsala, which leads from Moncucco to Carugate.
• Villa Tizzoni Ottolini, is a villa within the architectural complex of Cascina Increa.

Churches

• Saint Bartholomew is the cathedral and the oldest parish in town. It houses the relics of the three Magi. It is characterised by its relatively high bell tower meauring 36.8 metres (121 ft).^[5]
• Saint Lucius, also known as the "little temple of Moncucco" (in Italian: tempietto di San Lucio in Moncucco), is a small church dedicated to Saint Lucius near Villa Sormani. It is one of the most important buildings in Brugherio.
• Saint Ambrose is a small church annexed to the farmhouse that takes its name from it. According to oral^[6] and literary sources, in the fourth century, where the church and its farm are now located, there was a villa^[7] belonging to the Bishop of Milan, Ambrose. His sister, Marcellina, was consecrated as chaste along with other noble virgins, and Ambrose gave her this land for contemplation and prayer.
• Saint Mary Immaculate is a church annexed to Cascina Increa and next to the entrance of Villa Tizzoni Ottolini. It is dedicated to Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint Teresa of Ávila.
• Saint Anne is a church in San Damiano, hamlet of Brugherio, dedicated to Saint Anne by Antonio Parravicini and his wife Isabella Blasi.
• Saint Margaret is a 16th-century chapel dedicated to Saint Margaret of Antioch. It is located in Baraggia and adjacent to Villa Brivio, to which it belonged.
• Saint Charles is dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo and the most recent church in Brugherio characterized by modern architecture.

Historic farmhouses

Farmhouses of Brugherio were agricultural structures typical of the Po-Valley in Lombardy, which gave its name to the surrounding areas as well, roughly corresponding to fractional towns.

• Cascina Increa is a farmhouse located on the southeastern border of Brugherio. It enjoys the protection of the Soprintendenze per i Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici i.e., the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (MiBACT) of its respective province because of its surviving Renaissance architecture. It is located next to Increa Park.
• Cascina Guzzina is a farmhouse located in the southern part of the town, on the border with Cologno Monzese. The name comes from gussetta, which formerly referred to the cocoon of the silkworm,^[8] whose breeding was widespread in the area.
• Cascina Sant'Ambrogio, a farm annexed to Saint Ambrose church.

Other buildings and monuments

• Cimitero Storico is the historic cemetery of Brugherio.
• Plague crosses were erected after the plague that struck Monza and the near territory in 1576, in four altars used to celebrate religious services.
• War World Memorial, Monument to blood donors and Monument to Peace are monuments of Brugherio dedicated to the fallen during the First World War, to the Blood Donors and to Peace.

Green areas

• Increa Park is a green area in communal ownership in the south-west part of the town. Inside the park there is a large lake and the Increa quarry (cava Increa) which gives its name to it.

Frazioni

• Baraggia is a hamlet of Brugherio that was the separated municipality of Cassina Baraggia until 1866.
• San Damiano is located between the Milan-Bergamo highway and the eastern road ring of Monza.
• Moncucco is located south of Brugherio and it was an autonomous Italian municipality until March 30, 1871.

Culture

Festivals

There are three festivals in Brugherio. The first is the Festa Paesana di S. Damiano which features street performers and feasts. This is organised by local traders and takes place in June. The second festival is the Festa Delle Occhiate which is celebrated on the second or third Sunday in September. This more traditional festival celebrates farming. The last festival falls on the second Sunday of October. It is called the Festa Patronale della Madonna del SS. Rosario e di S. Bartolomeo. It is celebrated by way of a fair, where local food is eaten and religious celebrations for the Madonna of the Holy Rosary and Saint Bartholomew are performed.^[4]

Education

One of the three comprehensive schools in Brugherio is named for local artist Filippo de Pisis.^[9]

Twin towns

Brugherio is twinned with:

• Le Puy-en-Velay, France
• Prešov, Slovakia

References

1. Population data from Istat
2. Manuela, Mancini. Brugherio: presente e passato. Milano: Swan.
3. "Le frazioni di Brugherio" (in Italian). Comune di Brugherio. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
4. A Province to Be Explored: Monza, Section on Brugherio, Retrieved 12 August 2015
5. "Comune di Brugherio. In giro per la città. Chiese" (PDF).
6. Movimento Terza Età. Brugherio. La nostra gente (in Italian). Brugherio.
7. "Villa" as roman word means a land where people rest away from the city.
8. Brugherio: i suoi luoghi, la sua storia: 225º anniversario del primo volo italiano in mongolfiera con uomini a bordo (in Italian). Brugherio: Comune di Brugherio. 2009.
9. Filippo de Pisis School, icdepisis.gov.it, Retrieved 9 August 2015

External links

• Official website

Monument celebrating the first Italian public balloon ascent by Paolo Andreani in 1784