Merate: Discover Villas, Nature and Astronomy

Merate Amid Art, Gardens and Starry Skies

Merate brings together a range of travel interests: the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Don Michelangelo Ambrosioni, villas with landscaped gardens, the Lago di Sartirana nature reserve and the INAF site with its telescopes each offer a different focus. The town may be of interest if, when choosing a hotel, you would like to combine culture, landscapes and special experiences.

Museums, Sculptures and Historic Buildings

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 outdoor bronze courtyard. Some of the most significant bronzes, as well as three marble works, are displayed there.

Garden Art and Sacred Architecture

The Villa De Ferrari Bagatti Valsecchi is a country residence built in Merate in the 18th century and preserves frescoes, furnishings and decorations from that period. Its 12,000 m² park combines a romantic garden with an Italian garden. A pond, a cenotaph, orangery buildings and a greenhouse are also part of the grounds. Villa Il Subaglio is mentioned in a document dating from 1671. It has an Italian garden with statues and fountains, an English garden and an extensive woodland. Visits can be booked with a designated contact person.

The gardens of Villa Belgiojoso Brivio Sforza include areas in the Italian, English and French styles and lead to a viewpoint. Palazzo Prinetti has a seven-storey cylindrical tower with a stone base and a brick shaft. It is crowned by a Neo-Renaissance loggetta. The parish church of Sant'Ambrogio was probably built in the 15th century and decorated between the 17th century and the middle of the 19th century.

Nature at Lago di Sartirana

Lago di Sartirana is located in the Merate area. Since 1983, it has been a nature reserve of the Lombardy Region, and since 2003 it has also been a Site of Community Importance (SCI). 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. In this way, the lake complements the cultural attractions with a nature theme shaped by its distinctive landscape.

Stargazing and Telescopes

Astronomy is also part of the range of experiences Merate offers visitors. Guided stargazing sessions at the Merate site generally take place three or four times a month, when the Moon is in its first quarter. The INAF site in Merate also offers guided tours of the grounds and the two domes housing the Ruths and Zeiss telescopes.

More destinations for your Italy travel plans: Baita, Dervio, Lecco, Nibionno, Imbersago, Onno, Taceno, Cassina Valsassina

To the higher-level travel overview: Lecco.