Meda is a 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

province of Monza and Brianza The province of Monza and Brianza ( it, provincia di Monza e della Brianza; lmo, label= Monzese, provincia de Monscia e de la Brianza) is an administrative province of Lombardy region, Italy. Description It was officially created by splitting ...

, located in the northern Italian 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 ...

, close to

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 ...

and

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

. It is a center of furniture production. Meda is served by

Meda railway station Meda railway station is a railway station in Italy. Located on the Milan–Asso railway, it serves the town of Meda. Services Meda is served by line S2 of the Milan suburban railway network, and by the Milan– Asso regional line. Both of them a ...

History

Meda's history is linked to the history of its convent and of its foundation. From the latter's location on a mound ( la, meta) stems the town's name. According to legend, the Saints Aimo and Vermund, counts of Turbigo, were attacked by two wild boars while hunting. To save their lives, they swore to God that, if saved, they would build a convent right there. The convent was built around 780 near an old little church dedicated to St. Vittore. In order to be free from the control of the new priorate, the people of Meda built another church dedicated to

St. 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 ...

and

St. Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbonne, Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Roman Italy, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional beli ...

. The quarrels between the inhabitants and the convent ended on 10 December 1252, when the Prioress Maria da Besozzo gave up all her political, administrative and economic power on the village. Later the municipal territory was held by the

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

and

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last mem ...

families until, in the 16th century, it fell under the control of Spain and then of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. Meda later came under the power of the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

and then, after the

Second War of Italian Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

, became part of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

. The Meda territory, on the border with the town of

Seveso Seveso (; lmo, label= Lombard, Séves ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Monza and Brianza, in the Region of Lombardy. The economy of the town has traditionally been based on the furniture industry. Its name comes from the river of ...

, was the location of the ICMESA factory, which became known in 1976 for the release of a

dioxin Dioxin may refer to: * 1,2-Dioxin or 1,4-Dioxin, two unsaturated heterocyclic 6-membered rings where two carbon atoms have been replaced by oxygen atoms, giving the molecular formula C4H4O2 *Dibenzo-1,4-dioxin, the parent compound also known as ...

cloud, which affected many towns of the

Brianza Brianza (, , lmo, label=Brianzöö dialect, Briànsa) is a geographical, historical and cultural area of Italy, at the foot of the Alps, in the northwest of Lombardy, between Milan and Lake Como. Geography Brianza extends from th ...

. This event is known as the “

Seveso disaster Seveso (; lmo, label= Lombard, Séves ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Monza and Brianza, in the Region of Lombardy. The economy of the town has traditionally been based on the furniture industry. Its name comes from the river of ...

” (''Disastro di Seveso''). Meda received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on 4 September 1998.

Main sights

*Church of San Vittore (1520), housing a series of frescoes by

Bernardino Luini Bernardino Luini (c. 1480/82 – June 1532) was a north Italian painter from Leonardo's circle during the High Renaissance. Both Luini and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio were said to have worked with Leonardo directly; he was described as having ...

and his school. * Villa Antona Traversi, a transformation of a medieval convent of Santa Vittoria by the Neoclassical architect

Leopoldo Pollack Leopoldo Pollack (1751 – 13 March 1806) was an Austrian-born Italian architect who was active in Milan where he became one of the leading proponents of Neoclassical architecture. Career In Vienna, Pollack was trained by Paul Ulrich Trientl be ...

. The monastery had been suppressed in 1798 by the Napoleonic government. The church is frescoed by followers of Bernardo Luini.

People

Giuseppe Terragni Giuseppe Terragni (; 18 April 1904 – 19 July 1943) was an Italian architect who worked primarily under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini and pioneered the Italian modern movement under the rubric of Rationalism. His most famous work is the C ...

– architect *

Igor Cassina Igor Cassina (; born 15 August 1977) is an Italian gymnast who won gold in the men's horizontal bar at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Biography At the 2004 Summer Olympics, his competition saw a crowd protest over a low score for a routine ...

– gymnast – Gold medal at

Athens 2004 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Johnny Dorelli Johnny Dorelli (real name Giorgio Guidi; born 20 February 1937) is an Italian actor, singer and television host. Early life Dorelli was born in Meda, Italy. In 1946 he moved to New York City with his family, where his father, Nino D'Aurelio ...

– Actor * St. Giovanni Oldrati ''from Meda''

References

External links

{{Lombardy-geo-stub