Cesana Brianza is a ''

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

'' of 2,393 inhabitants in the

Province of Lecco The Province of Lecco ( it, provincia di Lecco; Lecchese: ) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecco. As of 2017, the province had a population of 337,211 on a surface of divided into 85 ''comuni'' (muni ...

in Lombardy, about north of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

and southwest of

Lecco Lecco (, , ; lmo, label= Lecchese, Lècch ) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco'') ...

. The territory of Cesana Brianza is located near Lake Pusiano, located on the southern slope of Mount

Cornizzolo Monte Cornizzolo (Insubric ''Curnisciöö'') is a mountain situated between the province of Como and the province of Lecco, Lombardy, northern Italy, particularly in the territory of the village of Canzo. The peak reaches 1,241 metres in altit ...

, belonging to the so-called "Larian Triangle". It is part of the Mountain Community Lario Orientale – Valle San Martino. Cesana Brianza borders the following municipalities:

Annone di Brianza Annone di Brianza (; lmo, Anun, Brianzöö: ) is a commune in the Province of Lecco, Lombardy, Italy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Lecco. The Lago di Annone is located on its borders. Annone di Brianza borders th ...

Bosisio Parini Bosisio Parini ( Brianzöö: ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about southwest of Lecco, on the shores of the Lake of Pusiano. Bosisio Parini borders ...

, Canzo, Civate, Eupilio, Pusiano,

Suello Suello ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Lecco. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,587 and an area of . ...

Territory

The territory of Cesana Brianza extends between the lakes of Pusiano and Annone and is located on the southern slope of Mount

("Cornizzola" or "Corniscioeula"), one of the many mountains belonging to the Larian Triangle and geologically to the Southern

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

. The municipal territory is the result of continuous geological transformations. In fact, the land is not equally uniform: stretches of land of marine origin are flanked by others of continental origin and others of glacial or morainic origin. The Cesanese countryside presents a poor and permeable soil made fertile by the continuous works of human reclamation and therefore now productive of any crop. Until a few decades ago, the cutting of hay, the breeding of livestock, the cultivation of

Vine A vine ( Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners thems ...

s and mulberry trees and, to a lesser extent, the harvesting of Cereals constituted the prevalent resources of the municipality, demonstrating the agricultural reality of Cesana Brianza. Today, however, maximum productivity comes from the industrial sector, while the agricultural crops of mulberry and vine have almost entirely disappeared, so that the extremely fractionated land ownership now serves only to ensure a little green. Particularly well known is the Municipal Park "Roccolo" of Cesana Brianza, located in a hilly position with a splendid view of Lake Pusiano.

Name origin

The toponym Cesana derives from Caesiana rura (or Caesiana Villa, domus, turris, colonia). It can be assumed, therefore, that the origin of the name would derive from a Latin adjective obtained by the application of the suffix -ianus, -iana to the Roman noble name Caesius, precisely Caesiana. The toponym Cesana is very common throughout Italy ( Cesana Torinese, Cesana fraction of Varese Ligure, Cesana near

Feltre Feltre ( vec, Fèltre) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about from its junction with the Piave, and southwe ...

, but also Cisano Bergamasco etc.). In all these cases, the place names derive from various possessions of families of the people "Caesia", very numerous and powerful especially in imperial times. The municipality changed its name from 1927 to 1955 when it was merged with the neighboring municipality of

, thus giving life to the municipality of Cesello Brianza. Today it is recognized as Cesana Brianza.

History

The history of Cesana Brianza has ancient origins dating back to ancient

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The first documentation of this place dates back to the famous and ancient

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

. In fact, the development of the road network facilitated the process of

Romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, an ...

of the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic e ...

, and on the route of an ancient Roman road rose the village of Cesana. This road connected the great roads of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

with the so-called "Via del Reno", which led to Germany in the region of the

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the ...

and Upper Danube, passing through

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has m ...

Chiavenna Chiavenna ( lmo, Ciavèna ; la, Clavenna; rm, Clavenna or ''Claven''; archaic german: Cläven or ''Kleven'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It is the centre of the Alpine ...

, the Spluga Pass and finally

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Lux ...

. Cesana, in the Lombard age, from a simple and common military post became a real "castrum" or castle, with a guard tower and other annexed defense buildings. During the disputes between

and Milan, in 1162 the town saw the destruction of its defensive walls by Milan. At that time, the territory was a fief granted by

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...

to the abbot of San Pietro al Monte. During the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sinc ...

, under the Visconti-Sforza seigniory, the practice of feudalism returned in vogue. In fact, the territory was first feudalised to the Dal Verme, then to the Fregoso and finally to the

Sfondrati Sfondrati is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Francesco Sfondrati (1493–1550), Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal and the father of Pope Gregory XIV * Niccolo Sfondrati (11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591) ...

during the Spanish domination. From an ecclesiastical point of view, the town was for many centuries included in the Pieve d'Incino. From 1927 to 1955 the municipality of Cesana Brianza was merged with

, giving birth to the municipality of Cesello Brianza, then belonging to the province of Como. In 1955 the municipality of Cesello Brianza was divided between the reconstituted municipalities of Cesana Brianza and Suello.

Monuments and places of interest

* Parish church of San Fermo, probably built at the end of the 9th century. In fact, the church of Saints Fermo and Rustico is listed among the dependencies of the Pieve d’Incino since the 13th century, while later it passed to the Pieve di Villincino (Erba). Parish of the diocese of

, it was rebuilt at the beginning of the 17th century to replace a previous church. Originally, it had a single nave, but it was later enlarged with the addition of two side aisles. The church was consecrated in 1615 by Cardinal Federico Borromeo. Geographically it is located in the inhabited center of the town in a raised position with respect to the square that hosts it. The front is divided into three large parts. The inside of the church is divided into three

Nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

s by pillars, the lateral ones end with the respective chapels dedicated to the Holy Crucifix and to the

Madonna del Rosario Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in the General Roma ...

. The central nave, instead, ends with the

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crow ...

. The cult of Saints Fermo and Rustico presumably dates back to the year 760, at the time of the Lombard king Desiderio. In fact, at the beginning, Cesana Brianza depended completely on the Pieve d'Incino, both for the civil and the religious administration. Later, with the arrival in the town of the first Christians, probably coming from

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

, it came to build real Christian sacred buildings and it is interesting to note that the ancient buildings of worship in Cesana were dedicated to saints from

Martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

ed Saints Fermo and Rustico. It is interesting to remember that the soldiers Fermo and Rustico, originally from Bergamo, were killed on 9 August 304 by order of the Emperor Maximian because of their Christian faith. In fact, today 9 August is the patronal feast day for the people of Cesana. * Sanctuary of the Madonna del Carmelo ("Oratorio del Santisimo Rosaii" as the stone inscription dated 1704 and positioned above the entrance portal reads). Originally the Oratory was built to be the seat of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, constituted in the year 1592 in the parish of Cesana and

. The members, not having a real seat where to meet, decided to build the building at their own expenses. However, towards the end of the 18th century, Emperor Joseph II of Austria, Duke of Milan, ordered the suppression of the existing Confraternities in the parishes. The parish priest of Cesana at that time, Carlo Alfonso De La Hoz, took the opportunity to apply for a "change of use" of the building, from a place of worship to a house at the service of the parish house, although, continuous pleas from the parishioners managed to block this initiative. A few years later, with the entrance of Napoleon Bonaparte in

and with the death of the parish priest De La Hoz in 1797, the people elected the priest Carlo Castelnuovo as the new parish priest of San Fermo. Following the Napoleonic requisitions, the Oratory also ended up in the list of the many vacant ecclesiastical properties and General Giuseppe De La Hoz, nephew of the recently deceased parish priest, asked and obtained the acquisition of the church through his attorney, Leone Viterbi. After the death of General De La Hoz, the oratory of Cesana passes fully into the hands of Viterbi, but he, without delay sells the building at the price of one thousand liras to the Milanese gentlemen Castelnuovo Giovan Maria and Conti Giuseppe Antonio. However, they are only front men: the real buyer is the Cesanese don Carlo Castelnuovo, brother of Giambattista, bishop of

. From this date the church is definitively assured to the parishioners of Cesana, who will become the owners by inheritance. The Lords Conti and Castelnuovo of Milan, who became the owners of the Oratory, brought there a statue to dress and wanted it to be dressed in the figure of the Madonna like the one they venerated in the central Parish of Santa Maria del Carmine in

. Since then, the ancient Madonna del Carmelo is imposed in the church. In the alternate historical events of the

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a s ...

, the constant datum is the popular devotion to the

Virgin mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

. The liturgical feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated on 16 July.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

of Cesana Brianza was adopted in February 1895 on a project of the publisher Vallardi and describes the Roman origins and the medieval traditions of this town. In

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

terms, it can be described as follows: ''"silver to the Roman aqueduct in red planted on a green lawn, surmounted by the Visconti Biscione".'' The presence of the "biscione visconteo" probably alludes to the fact that in Cesana the archbishop Visconti had established the seminary of San Fermo, then suppressed in 1596 by cardinal Borromeo.

Ancient noble families of Cesana

* The

Cattaneo Cattaneo ( is an Italian surname. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 81.2% of all known bearers of the surname ''Cattaneo'' were residents of Italy (frequency 1:1,232), 9.0% of Argentina (1:7,742), 2.8% of Switzerland (1:4,802), 1.9% of the Uni ...

: family of ancient nobility, particularly in Cesana. In fact, they were the Capitanei or Valvassori in the service of

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...

and the Abbot of Civate. They were therefore the commanders of the military garrison of the castle of Cesana, or more simply the feudal lords or gentlemen of the country. Towards the middle of the fifteenth century, they abandoned all the prerogatives of military commanders and accepted from the Abbot of Civate the investiture of landowners of the farm of Cesana called La Fontana, and from that moment left the civil administration of the town to the Mauri and Gerosa. * The Mauri: they were

Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalr ...

, originally from the town of Eupilio, and quickly spread throughout the

and throughout Italy. The Mauri of Cesana always had a dominant role in the government of the town. * The Gerosa: family of

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, ri ...

origin, pursued by the Guelphs of

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes C ...

and forced to abandon their original seat in Imagna Valley, they sought hospitality in

Brianza Brianza (, , lmo, label= Brianzöö dialect, Briànsa) is a geographical, historical and cultural area of Italy, at the foot of the Alps, in the northwest of Lombardy, between Milan and Lake Como. Geography Brianza extends from th ...

(traditionally

) and especially in Cesana Brianza, where they constantly held public office. The main branch of this family had as last heir Maria Caterina Gerosa, founder of the Sisters of Charity. * The Stefanoni: family adherent to the party of the Guelphs. It was persecuted by the Lord of

Barnabò Visconti Barnabò is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Guglielmo Barnabò (1888–1954), Italian actor *Alessandro Barnabò Alessandro Barnabò (2 March 1801 – 24 February 1874) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal and Prefect of the Con ...

, but its successor

Gian Galeazzo Visconti Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Milan (1395) and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò. He was the foun ...

granted it an amnesty and allowed it to regain possession of its goods and rights.

Demographic evolution

* 335 in 1751 * 309 in 1771 * 446 in 1805 * 1,228 after annexation of Pusiano and

in 1809 * 592 in 1853 * 604 in 1862 * 790 in 1901 * 1,807 as ''Cesello Brianza'' in 1931 * 1,810 as ''Cesello Brianza'' in 1936 * 2,074 as ''Cesello Brianza'' in 1951 * 1,274 in 1961, the active population was 516: 31 agricultural workers and 430 industrial workers. * 1,589 in 1971 Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:455 height:303 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:3000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:200 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from: 0 till:633 bar:1871 from: 0 till:698 bar:1881 from: 0 till:742 bar:1901 from: 0 till:790 bar:1911 from: 0 till:982 bar:1921 from: 0 till:932 bar:1931 from: 0 till:961 bar:1936 from: 0 till:991 bar:1951 from: 0 till:1134 bar:1961 from: 0 till:1274 bar:1971 from: 0 till:1589 bar:1981 from: 0 till:1965 bar:1991 from: 0 till:2205 bar:2001 from: 0 till:2265 PlotData= bar:1861 at:633 fontsize:XS text: 633 shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at:698 fontsize:XS text: 698 shift:(-8,5) bar:1881 at:742 fontsize:XS text: 742 shift:(-8,5) bar:1901 at:790 fontsize:XS text: 790 shift:(-8,5) bar:1911 at:982 fontsize:XS text: 982 shift:(-8,5) bar:1921 at:932 fontsize:XS text: 932 shift:(-8,5) bar:1931 at:961 fontsize:XS text: 961 shift:(-8,5) bar:1936 at:991 fontsize:XS text: 991 shift:(-8,5) bar:1951 at:1134 fontsize:XS text: 1134 shift:(-8,5) bar:1961 at:1274 fontsize:XS text: 1274 shift:(-8,5) bar:1971 at:1589 fontsize:XS text: 1589 shift:(-8,5) bar:1981 at:1965 fontsize:XS text: 1965 shift:(-8,5) bar:1991 at:2205 fontsize:XS text: 2205 shift:(-8,5) bar:2001 at:2265 fontsize:XS text: 2265 shift:(-8,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from ISTAT

References

Cities and towns in Lombardy Populated places on Brianza {{Lecco-geo-stub