Case Nuove: Volandia, Church Art and Nature

Volandia is located at Via per Tornavento 15 in Case Nuove, Somma Lombardo. The exhibition is housed in the historic Caproni aircraft workshops dating from 1910. Volandia includes reconstructions of the Officine Caproni, where Caproni aircraft were built, and of the first flight over the Malpensa heath: the Caproni Ca.1 biplane made this flight on 27 May 1910.

Flight, Space Travel and Transport

The museum is divided into seven sections: Forms of Flight, Fixed-Wing Aircraft, Rotary-Wing Aircraft, the Space and Planetarium Pavilion, Drones, Model Aircraft and the Children's Area. Volandia offers realistic flight simulators and has a planetarium. There, you can observe stars, planets and constellations and watch educational films about the solar system. The Museo Flaminio Bertoni houses automobiles and sculptures, while the affiliated Museo dei Trasporti Ogliari has a collection of trams, locomotives, funicular railways, freight wagons and passenger carriages.

Church and Local History

The parish church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia, Virgin and Martyr, was built in Case Nuove in 1779 to replace an older church dedicated to Santa Maria Lauretana, and was consecrated in 1786 by Cardinal Filippo Visconti. Antonio Brusatori created its wall and vault frescoes at the beginning of the 20th century. Two reliefs from an old chapel depict the Virgin and Child and Saint George with the dragon. The chapel was destroyed by the French after the Battle of Tornavento in 1636. A small pronaos with Corinthian columns protects the Baroque entrance.

Families and Shared Discovery

For families, the facilities include an outdoor area with aviation-themed games for younger children, an indoor play area with games for different age groups and an area equipped for birthday parties. Volandia encourages visits by groups and schools of all types and year groups to the park and museum. This brings together technology-related topics and different age groups.

Green Spaces and Notable Landmarks

At the Diga del Panperduto in Somma Lombardo, there are walking and cycling paths amid the greenery of Parco del Ticino. The SIC Brughiera del Dosso covers approximately 455 hectares south of the municipality of Somma Lombardo; around 70 percent consists of natural habitats and 26 percent of agricultural land. The Ipposidra route passes through wooded sections in Vizzola Ticino, Somma Lombardo and Golasecca, although some stretches are difficult to navigate by bicycle.

Orientation for Your Stay

When choosing your accommodation, you can use the specific highlights as a guide: Volandia and Santa Margherita represent aviation, technology and church art; Diga del Panperduto, Brughiera del Dosso and Ipposidra represent paths and landscapes. The railway connection for the Church of Santa Margherita in Case Nuove is Somma Lombardo station; regional trains on the S50 and R28 lines, as well as the Malpensa Express on the MXP1–MXP2 routes, operate there. Two cremation burials from the final phase of the Bronze Age were documented in Case Nuove within the proto-Golasecchian necropolis of Malpensa. The geodetic base of Somma Lombardo is the only surviving one of its kind in the Province of Varese. In the Malpensa Militare e Paraschegge area, five blast walls and an old concrete runway can be identified; the runway was once 16 metres wide.

Further destinations for your personal travel planning: Travedona-Monate, Comerio, Gavirate, Marnate, Gazzada Schianno, Rasa Di Varese, Valganna, Bassano

For the overarching travel overview: Varese.