Busto Arsizio (; lmo, label= Bustocco, Büsti Grandi) is an Italian city and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the south-easternmost part of the

Province of Varese The province of Varese ( it, provincia di Varese) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese (population of 80,857 inhabitants), but its largest city is Busto Arsizio. The head ...

, in the region of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, in

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

, north of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce. It is the fifth municipality in the region by population and the first in the province.

History

Despite some claims about a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

heritage, recent studies suggest that the "''Bustocchi''s ancestors were

Ligurians The Ligures (singular Ligur; Italian: liguri; English: Ligurians) were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day north-western Italy, is named. Ancient Liguria corresponded more or less to the current Italian regio ...

, called "wild" by

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

, "marauders and robbers" by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

and "unshaven and hairy" by Pompeius Tragus. They were skilled ironworkers and much sought after as mercenary soldiers. A remote Ligurian influence is perceptible in the local dialect, Büstócu, slightly different from other

Western Lombard Western Lombard is a group of dialects of Lombard, a Romance language spoken in Italy. It is widespread in the Lombard provinces of Milan, Monza, Varese, Como, Lecco, Sondrio, a small part of Cremona (except Crema and its neighbours), Lodi ...

varieties, according to a local expert and historian Luigi Giavini.''Altro che celti. Sono liguri gli avi dei Bustocchi''
Varesenews, November 21, 2002 Traditionally these first inhabitants used to set fire to woods made of old and young oaks and black hornbeams, which at that time, covered the whole

Padan Plain The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

. This

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegeta ...

practice, known as "debbio" in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, aimed to create fields where grapevines or cereals such as foxtail, millet and rye were grown, or just to create open spaces where stone huts with thatched roofs were built. By doing this, they created a ''bustum'' (burnt, in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

), that is a new settlement which, in order to be distinguished from the other nearby settlements, was assigned a name: ''arsicium'' (again "burnt", or better "arid") for Busto Arsizio, whose name is actually a tautology; ''carulfì'' for nearby

Busto Garolfo Busto Garolfo ( Lombard: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan of 13 978 inhabitants. Busto Garolfo is located in the Italian region Lombardy, placed about northwest of Milan. Toponymy In the local dialect, belongin ...

, ''cava'' for Busto Cava, later

Buscate Buscate ( lmo, Buscaa ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan. As of 1 January 2014, it had a population of 4,822 and an area of . It is the ancestral home of th ...

. The slow increase in population was helped by the

Insubres The Insubres or Insubri were an ancient Celts, Celtic population settled in Insubria, in what is now the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Lombardy. They were the founders of Mediolanum (Milan). Though completely Gaulish at the time of Roman rep ...

, a

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

ish tribe who arrived in successive waves by crossing the Alps c. 500

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

. It is said that they defeated the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...

, who by then controlled the area, leaving some geographical names behind (Arno creek (not to be confused with Florence's river), Castronno, Caronno, Biandronno, etc.). Busto Arsizio was created on the route between

and

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest la ...

(called "Milan’s road", an alternative route to the existent

Sempione The Simplon Pass (french: Col du Simplon; german: Simplonpass; it, Passo del Sempione, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Pass del Sempiün'') () is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig, ...

), part of which, before the creation of the

Naviglio Grande The Naviglio Grande is a canal in Lombardy, northern Italy, connecting the Ticino river near Tornavento ( south of Sesto Calende) to the Porta Ticinese dock, also known as the ''Darsena'', in Milan. It drops over . It varies in width from from ...

, made use of the navigational water of the

Ticino river The river Ticino ( , ; lmo, Tesín; French and german: Tessin; la, Ticīnus) is the most important perennial left-bank tributary of the Po. It has given its name to the Swiss canton through which its upper portion flows. It is one of the four ...

. However, nothing is clearly known about Busto Arsizio's history before the 10th century, when the city's name was first discovered in documents, already with its present name: ''loco Busti qui dicitur Arsizio''. A part of the powerful Contado of the Seprio, in 1176, its citizens likely participated (on both sides) in the famous

Battle of Legnano The Battle of Legnano was a battle between the imperial army of Frederick Barbarossa and the troops of the Lombard League on May 29, 1176, near the town of Legnano in present-day Lombardy, in Italy. Although the presence of the enemy nearby wa ...

, actually fought between Busto Arsizio's

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

of Borsano and nearby

Villa Cortese Villa Cortese ( Legnanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan. The administrative municipalities borders Legnano, San Giorgio su Legnano, Busto Garolfo an ...

, when

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

was defeated by the communal militia of the Lombard League. From the 13th century, the city became renowned for its production of textiles. Even its feudalization in later centuries under several lords, vassals of the masters of Milan, did not stop its slow but constant growth; nor did the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

, which hit hard in 1630, traditionally being stopped by the Virgin Mary after the ''Bustocchi'', always a pious

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

flock, prayed for respite from the deadly epidemic. By the mid-19th century, modern industry began to take over strongly; in a few decades, Busto Arsizio became the so-called "

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

of Italy". In 1864, while the "Bustocco" Eugenio Tosi was the

Archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has l ...

, it was granted privileges by king

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title o ...

of Italy. The Busto Arsizio continued to grow over the next century, absorbing the nearby communities of Borsano and Sacconago in 1927 in a major administrative reform implemented by the

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

regime and was only marginally damaged even by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(a single

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

airdropped bomb is said to have hit the train station). This respite was given, actually, by the fact that the city hosted the important Allied liaison mission with the partisans, the Chrysler mission, led by Lt. Aldo Icardi, later famous for his involvement in the Holohan Murder Case. During the conflict, Busto Arsizio was a major industrial centre for war production, and the occupying

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

moved the Italian national radio there. The

Italian resistance movement The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

resorted preferably to

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

s and

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

than to overt

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...

, since those willing to fight mostly took to the

Ossola The Ossola (, also Valle Ossola or Val d’Ossola) is an area of Italy situated to the north of Lago Maggiore. It lies within the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. Its principal river is the Toce, and its most important town Domodossola. Et ...

mountains, but strengthened in time, suffering grievous losses to arrests, tortures and deportation to the Nazi

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage" ...

system. The names of

Mauthausen-Gusen Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 further ...

and Flossenbürg concentration and extermination camps are sadly known to the ''Bustocchi'', as dozens of their fellow citizens died there. On 25 April 1945, when the partisans took over, Busto Arsizio gave voice to the first free radio channel in northern Italy since the advent of

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. After the war, Busto Arsizio turned increasingly on the right of the

political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more geometric axes that represent independent political dimensions. The expressions politi ...

as its bigger industries in the 1960s and 1970s decayed, to be replaced by many familiar small enterprises and a new service-based economy. Today, the city represents a major stronghold for both

Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...

and

Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...

right-wing political parties. Busto Arsizio's districts There are 9

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

s in Busto Arsizio, these are: Sant'Anna, San Michele, San Giovanni, Sant'Edoardo, Madonna Regina, Beata Giuliana, Santi Apostoli, Borsano and Sacconago.

Demographics

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:550 height:373 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:90000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:5000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 bar:2010 text:2010 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from:0 till: 15720 bar:1871 from:0 till: 16598 bar:1881 from:0 till: 17113 bar:1901 from:0 till: 24291 bar:1911 from:0 till: 31358 bar:1921 from:0 till: 33742 bar:1931 from:0 till: 39841 bar:1936 from:0 till: 42995 bar:1951 from:0 till: 52607 bar:1961 from:0 till: 64367 bar:1971 from:0 till: 78601 bar:1981 from:0 till: 79728 bar:1991 from:0 till: 77094 bar:2001 from:0 till: 75916 bar:2010 from:0 till: 81760 PlotData= bar:1861 at: 15720 fontsize:S text: 15,720 shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at: 16598 fontsize:S text: 16,598 shift:(-10,5) bar:1881 at: 17113 fontsize:S text: 17,113 shift:(-10,5) bar:1901 at: 24291 fontsize:S text: 24,291 shift:(-10,5) bar:1911 at: 31358 fontsize:S text: 31,358 shift:(-10,5) bar:1921 at: 33742 fontsize:S text: 33,742 shift:(-10,5) bar:1931 at: 39841 fontsize:S text: 39,841 shift:(-10,5) bar:1936 at: 42995 fontsize:S text: 42,995 shift:(-10,5) bar:1951 at: 52607 fontsize:S text: 52,607 shift:(-10,5) bar:1961 at: 64367 fontsize:S text: 64,367 shift:(-10,5) bar:1971 at: 78601 fontsize:S text: 78,601 shift:(-10,5) bar:1981 at: 79728 fontsize:S text: 79,728 shift:(-10,5) bar:1991 at: 77094 fontsize:S text: 77,094 shift:(-10,5) bar:2001 at: 75916 fontsize:S text: 75,916 shift:(-10,5) bar:2010 at: 81431 fontsize:S text: 81,760 shift:(-10,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:fonte ISTAT - elaborazione grafica a cura di Wikipedia

Main sights

The most important buildings of the city are the churches. There are several built in the last millennium, many of which are reconstructions of former churches.

The shrine of ''Santa Maria di Piazza''

The most remarkable building of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

period – indeed the only remaining – is the

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

of ''Santa Maria di Piazza'' ("

Saint Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

of the Square"), also called ''shrine of the Beata Vergine dell'Aiuto'' ("Blessed Virgin of the Help"). The building stands in the city centre. It was built between 1515 and 1522. The village of

Crespi d'Adda Crespi d'Adda is a village in northern Italy, Italian and hamlet (''frazione'') of Capriate San Gervasio, a municipality in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy. It is a historic settlement and an outstanding example of the 19th and early 20th-centur ...

, built up for

Cristoforo Benigno Crespi Cristoforo Benigno Crespi (18 October 1833 in Busto Arsizio – 5 January 1920 in Milan) was an Italian entrepreneur. Biography In 1897 a cotton textile industry was created in the province of Milan and the factory and its worker village, called ...

, is home to a smaller version of the shrine.

The church of Saint John the Baptist

The church of Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, in the city centre, was built between 1609 and 1635 by Francesco Maria Ricchini, but the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

is older (between 1400 and 1418). The façade, finished in 1701 by

Domenico Valmagini Domenico Valmagini (1677-1730) was an Italian architect and engineer, active in a Baroque style in the Duchy of Parma and in Lombardy. He was the main court architect for Ranuccio II. Among his works are the monastery and church of the Benedictin ...

, has many statues and decorations. In the interior are numerous paintings by

Daniele Crespi Daniele Crespi (159819 July 1630) was an Italian painter and draughtsman. He is regarded as one of the most original artists working in Milan in the 1620s. He broke away from the exaggerated manner of Lombard Mannerism in favour of an early Bar ...

, a celebrated painter born at Busto Arsizio, such as ''Cristo morto con San Domenico'' and

Biagio Bellotti Biagio Maria Bellotti (Busto Arsizio Busto Arsizio (; lmo, label= Bustocco, Büsti Grandi) is an Italian city and '' comune'' in the south-easternmost part of the Province of Varese, in the region of Lombardy, in Northern Italy, north of ...

. The square in front of this church was built over the ancient cemetery.

The church of Saint Michael the Archangel

The third biggest church in the city is the Church of Saint Michael Archangel (). Its bell tower, built in the 10th century, is the oldest building in Busto Arsizio; originally it was part of a Lombard fortification. The present church was built by the architect

Francesco Maria Richini Francesco Maria Richini (also spelled Ricchini) (9 February 1584 – 24 April 1658) was an Italian Baroque architect. Biography He was born in Milan and trained under Lorenzo Binago. He was patronized by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, Archbishop o ...

. In the church there are some

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s, the most important of which is the body of San Felice Martire.

The church of Saint Roch

Built after the 1485

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

and dedicated to

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

, invoked against the plague, it was rebuilt from 1706 to 1713 thanks to donations by the lawyer

Carlo Visconti Carlo Visconti (died 2 January 1477) was an Italian, who was a member of the prominent Visconti family, and a government secretary in Milan's Council of Justice, he was executed for being the assassin of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the Duke of Milan. ...

. Inside the church, there are frescos by Salvatore and Francesco Maria Bianchi (1731) and

Museum of Textiles and Industry

The Museum of Textiles and Industry was officially inaugurated in 1997 after years of restoration, and its collections are representative of Busto's economical history. They explain how the city developed from a small agricultural village to a thriving, industrial centre of manufacturing and commerce in a few decades.

Traditional festivals

The patron saints of the city are

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and

Saint Michael the Archangel Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), a ...

, whose feasts are traditionally celebrated on 24 June and 29 September. In recent times the city council has given also civic relevance to celebrations that up to now were almost completely of a religious kind. In winter, the burning of the '' Giöbia'' (historical spelling: ''Gioeubia'') a (usually) female puppet, symbolizing the "chasing" out of winter and its troubles, and on a more sinister note, the change from a matriarchal to a patriarchal society in ancient times, is an established tradition since time immemorial. In the past each family prepared its simple puppet to be burnt, and then its ashes were dispersed to fertilize the fields as a good omen. Now the celebration is more organized and publicly supported but still heartily felt by the populace. Busto Arsizio has two carnival masks, called ''Tarlisu'' and ''Bumbasina'' from the name of typical textiles. Carnevale bustocco

Music

Mina, an Italian pop star, was born in Busto Arsizio. Italian violinist and conductor

Uto Ughi Bruto Diodato "Uto" Ughi (; born 21 January 1944) is an Italian violinist and conductor. He was the music director of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia between 1987 and 1992. He is considered one of Italy's greatest living ...

was also born and is currently living in the city.

Sport

Busto Arsizio is the host for the Federazione Italiana Sport Croquet, the lawns being located at the Cascina del Lupo Sporting Centre just outside the city. Pro Patria Calcio

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club plays in Busto Arsizio at the Carlo Speroni Stadium. The football team has qualified for access to the Serie B National Championship many times, but the team has not been part of the division since 1965–1966. Pro Patria A.R.C. Busto Arsizio is the athletic society.

Yamamay Busto Arsizio UYBA Volley is an Italian women's volleyball club based in Busto Arsizio, in the province of Varese. The team currently plays in the Serie A1, Italy's highest professional league. The team is sponsored by Yamamay, an Italian company that produce ...

is the main

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

society of the city and plays in the first national division. One of the most important athletes of Busto Arsizio is

Umberto Pelizzari Umberto Pelizzari (born August 28, 1965) is an Italian freediver, widely considered among the best of all time. Of his era, he is the sole person to have established world records in all the then existing disciplines of freediving. Early life ...

, born on August 28, 1965, widely considered among the best freedivers of all time. Other important athletes are the former

twirling Twirling is a form of object manipulation where an object is twirled by one or two hands, the fingers or by other parts of the body. Twirling practice manipulates the object in circular or near circular patterns. It can also be done indirectly by ...

world champion Chiara Stefanazzi and the former

footballers A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Carlo Reguzzoni Carlo Reguzzoni (; 18 January 1908 – 16 December 1996) was an Italian footballer who played as a winger. Club career Reguzzoni was born in Busto Arsizio, in the province of Varese, Lombardy. He made his Serie A debut with Pro Patria on 6 ...

Antonio Azimonti Antonio Maison Azimonti (or Azzimonti) (2 January 1925 – 10 August 1997)Davide Rota, Dizionario illustrato dei giocatori genoani, De Ferrari, 2008. was an Italian footballer He was born in Busto Arsizio. He played for 8 seasons (211 games, 1 ...

, Aldo Marelli,

Egidio Calloni Egidio Calloni (born 1 December 1952 in Busto Arsizio, Province of Varese) is an Italian former football striker, best known for his stint at A.C. Milan. Career An Internazionale youth system product, Calloni then moved to Varese and then on lo ...

, Natale Masera and Michele Ferri. Busto Arsizio is also the city where the Italian volleyball player Caterina Bosetti is born.

Transport

Busto Arsizio is served by two railway stations:

Busto Arsizio railway station Busto Arsizio is a railway station in Italy. Located on the common section of the lines Domodossola–Milan, Luino–Milan and Porto Ceresio–Milan, it serves the city of Busto Arsizio. It is joined by a junction track to the Busto Arsizio No ...

, managed by

Rete Ferroviaria Italiana Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) is the Italian railway infrastructure manager, subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), a state-owned holding company. RFI is the owner of Italy's railway network, it provides signalling, maintenance and other ser ...

, and

Busto Arsizio Nord railway station Busto Arsizio Nord is a railway station in Italy. Located on the Saronno–Novara railway, it serves the city of Busto Arsizio. It is joined by a junction track to the Busto Arsizio railway station, managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. Some kilom ...

, managed by

Ferrovienord Ferrovienord (prior to 2006, Ferrovie Nord Milano Esercizio) is an Italian transport company managing the network of regional railway concessions owned by the group in northern Italy. It is a subsidiary of Ferrovie Nord Milano. History The compan ...

. Initially, the Busto Arsizio area was selected for one specific reason: ease of transport – the city is located exactly in the middle between

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

and

. Travel from Busto Arsizio to either city is approximately 30 minutes.

Economy

Busto Arsizio's economic model has changed over the years: at the beginning, the most developed sectors were the primary and secondary sectors, but in the last decades also the tertiary sector has grown. According to Fitch, in 2009 GDP was 20% higher than the European average, while unemployment was at 4%. Agricolture The terrain of Busto Arsizio has never been particularly favourable for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, for this reason from the very beginning the inhabitants of the city added to it other activities, such as

leather tanning Tanning is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Tanning hide into leather involves a process which permanently alters the protein structure of skin, makin ...

. Despite this, the primary sector remained the predominant one until the

16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th cent ...

. The most important crop was that of

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

Silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...

breeding was also practised for a long time. Craftsmanship In the 16th century, Busto Arsizio was known for the production of

moleskin Moleskin is a heavy cotton fabric, woven and then shorn to create a short, soft pile on one side. The feel and appearance of its nap is suede-like, less plush than velour and more like felt or chamois. The word is also used for clothing made fr ...

Pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades of ...

processing is also widespread in the city, aimed at the production of

trophies A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...

tray A tray is a shallow platform designed for the carrying of items. It can be fashioned from numerous materials, including silver, brass, sheet iron, paperboard, wood, melamine, and molded pulp. Trays range in cost from inexpensive molded pulp tray ...

s and plates. Industry Busto Arsizio has been one of the major textile centres of Italy for many years and well known abroad. The city birthed a new class of entrepreneurs who started the first textile factors. Also, a new role in society was created: the worker-peasant, who found employment in these factories without completely neglecting agricultural activities. The city began to be called 'the Manchester of Italy' or 'the city of 100 chimneys'. Services In 1873 Eugenio Cantoni, Pasquale Pozzi and other entrepreneurs linked to the cotton industry founded the Banca of Busto Arsizio, which was transformed in 1911 into the Italian Provincial Credit Society, a forerunner of Italian Discount Bank, one of the main Italian credit institutions in the years of the First World War.

Neighbouring cities

Among the surrounding municipalities to Busto Arsizio are:

Marnate Marnate is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 km northwest of Milan and about 20 km south of Varese. As of 31 December 2018, it had a population of 7,936 and an area of ...

Castellanza Castellanza is a town and ''comune'' located in the province of Varese, along the boundary of the province of Milan, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Overview The toponym refers to the ''castellanze'' (plural form, singular ''castellanza' ...

, Olgiate Olona, Gorla Maggiore, Gorla Minore,

Solbiate Olona Solbiate Olona is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 km northwest of Milan and about 20 km south of Varese. As of 31 December 2020, it had a population of 5,414 an ...

, Fagnano Olona.

International relations

Twin towns—Sister cities

Busto Arsizio is twinned with: *

Domodossola Domodossola (; Lombard: Dòm) is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy. It was also known as Oscela, Oscella, Oscella dei Leponzi, Ossolo, Ossola Lepontiorum, and Domo d'Ossola ...

, Italy *

Épinay-sur-Seine Épinay-sur-Seine (, literally ''Épinay on Seine'') is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The church of Notre-Dame-des-Missions-du-cygne d'Enghien, designed by Paul Tournon, may be found ...

, France * Nacfa, Eritrea *

Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese noblewoman, concubine and later regent who effectively controlled ...

, China

Notable people

* Mario Caccia, footballer *

Massimiliano Gioni Massimiliano Gioni (born 1973) is an Italian curator and contemporary art critic based in New York City, and Artistic Director at the New Museum. He is the Artistic Director of the Nicola Trussardi Foundation in Milan as well as the Artistic Dire ...

, curator

References

External links

Busto Arsizio official website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lombardy