The Olona Valley is full of monuments that mark its history through the centuries.
The settlement of CASTELSEPRIO is one of the most significant sites containing evidence from the early Middle Ages in the north of Italy. The little church of Santa Maria foris Portas (St. Maria "outside the city walls") is one of the oldest churches in the Province of Varese (V-VI century). Not far from Castelseprio, at the foot of a hill high above Olona valley, lies the MONASTERO DI TORBA: a military outpost, which later became a monastery for Benedictine nuns. The 5th - 6th century tower is a highly significant piece of architecture. CASTIGLIONE OLONA a Renaissance-style village built by Cardinal Branda Castiglione in the fifteenth century and inspired by the architecture he had seen in Florence. Masolino, a pupil of Masaccio, created the limpid frescoes you can see in the hilltop Collegiata and its baptistery. And there are more frescoes in the Casa dei Castiglioni on the sleepy main square. Castiglione Olona livens up on the first Sunday in the month when the market of antiques is held.