Saturday Morning The visit of the town
opens with the Villa and its Royal gardens. At 9:40 am you arrive at the
Expiatory Chapel, where King Umberto I was killed. This Chapel was built in 1910
according to the Sacconi and Cirilli's architectural project. At about 10:00
am you arrive at the Royal Howe, residence of the archduke Absburgic Court, of
the vice-king of France and summer stay of the Savoias. It was built in 1777
following a Piermarini's project. Permission to visit the Royal Apartments will
be allowed according to the restoration works, you will find three neoclassical
jewels available: the Court Theatre, the Royal Chapel, the Rutunda painted in
fresco with "Amore and Psiche" cycle realized by A. Appioni. At 12:00 noon the
visit goes on to the Royal Rose Gardens.
Saturday Afternoon At 3:00 pm, you will
drive to the centre of Monza. You will go through the Royal coppice, and on
Carlo Alberto Street, you will find on your left Santa Maria del Corrobiolo, a
thirteenth century church with important Rococò and Baroque paintings and
decorations. A little bit farther, on your right there is San Pietro Martire, a
thirteenth century church decorated with fourteenth century frescos. Directly
ahead of this, you will find Arengario building, medieval Home office of the
town. At 3:40 pm the visit continues to the Duomo a fourteenth century
Cathedral realized on the remains of a Lombard Church which was built by Queen
Teodolinda in 595: here you can appreciate important f resco cycles, f rom the
fifteenth century to the eighteenth century, among which TheTree of Life by G.
Arcimboldo and Meda, the Teodolinda Chapel with the Queen's stories, masterpiece
of the international Gothic, the Major Altar by Andrea Appiani and the
campionese Pulpit. Teodolinda Chapel preserves Italian King's Iron Crown and in
its museum The Queen's Treasures: antique ivories, Lombard silvers, sixteenth
century tapestries, From the Cathedral, through Vittorio Emanuele Street, you
reach Oratorio di San Gerardino, with the Luini's frescos, Santa Maria Church -
once related to the Monza Nun's Monastery. Going back to the centre, on Italia
Street, there is Santa Maria In Strada, with its elegant facade made of first
fifteenth century bricks. Finally and lastly there is an important fourteenth
century Crucifixion at the basement of the chapel.
Sunday This day is dedicated to Monza
Park, realized in 1805-1806 by Canonica's architectural project, following the
wishes of Napoleone Bonaparte. For all sportsmen, the opening at 7:00 am permits
starting the day with jogging in a fascinating habitat, among the green, far
from cars. Starting from 10:15 am historical and architectural visits to the
neoclassical Villas and Farm Houses are also possible. Very important are
Mirabello and Mirabellino Villas built by Family Durini, Monza feudatories. At
11:30 am you can stop at the Orchard Farm House and then also the natural
botanic path is worth going through. For the motor amateurs visits to the
National Autodromo of Monza, where there is the ever famous Italian Grand Prix,
are permitted during week-ends when no national or international motor events
are happening. In this case the race track is open to tourist laps. In
alternative to the suggested tour, it is possible to spend the day on the Milan
Golf courses, wonderful with its 27 pits in the green or to the Horseracing
Center by Cascina Casalta, a horsemanship school which organizes also horseback
ridings in the park.
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