Holiday apartment in Merate: culture, gardens and nature

Merate between culture and nature

Merate brings together a remarkable range of attractions: the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Don Michelangelo Ambrosioni, historic villas, Lago di Sartirana and the INAF site each offer a different focus. When choosing a holiday apartment in Merate, you can therefore consider whether art and architecture, observing nature or special experiences under the sky should shape your stay. For families and other travellers with different interests, this creates a varied selection without having to limit yourself to just one type of discovery.

History, art and distinctive architecture

The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Don Michelangelo Ambrosioni is housed in a former classroom of the Collegio “Alessandro Manzoni”. Its historical resistance section preserves documents from the Lazzarini Archive. In Pagnano, a district of Merate, the Fondazione Giuseppe Mozzanica was founded in 2007 to preserve and promote the work of a sculptor and painter. The museum complex includes an open-air bronze courtyard displaying some of the most important bronzes as well as three marble works.

The historic estates complement this picture with impressive garden spaces. Villa De Ferrari Bagatti Valsecchi is a country residence built in the 18th century and preserves frescoes, furnishings and decorations from that period. It includes a 12,000 m² park combining a romantic garden and an Italian garden, as well as a pond, a cenotaph, orangery buildings and a greenhouse. Villa Il Subaglio can be traced back to a reference dating from 1671 and has an Italian garden with statues and fountains, an English garden and extensive woodland. The gardens of Villa Belgiojoso Brivio Sforza include areas in the Italian, English and French styles and lead to a viewpoint. Palazzo Prinetti also has a distinctive feature: a seven-storey cylindrical tower with a stone base, brick shaft and Neo-Renaissance loggetta. The parish church of Sant'Ambrogio was probably built in the 15th century and embellished between the 17th century and the middle of the 19th century.

Nature at Lago di Sartirana

Lago di Sartirana is located in the territory of Merate and has been a nature reserve of the Lombardy Region since 1983, as well as a Site of Community Importance (SCI) since 2003. The 23-hectare green area around the lake offers a path along the embankment that leads into the reed beds. A wooden bridge leads to a birdwatching hide. Anyone wishing to combine nature and culture when planning a trip will find a clear counterpoint here to the museums, villas and churches.

Skywatching and special visits

Guided skywatching sessions at the Merate site generally take place three to four times a month, when the moon is in its first quarter. The INAF site in Merate offers guided tours of the grounds and the two domes with the Ruths and Zeiss telescopes. Visits to Villa Subaglio can be booked with a contact person. These activities and dates offer a different focus from a walk through the gardens or along Lago di Sartirana. When choosing your holiday apartment, you can therefore take the desired pace of your stay into account: historic rooms, protected nature, garden art or an evening with a view of the telescopes.

More destinations: Introzzo, Paderno, Cremeno, Torre De' Busi, Fiumelatte, Dorio, Missaglia, Ballabio

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