The Collegiate Church of Castiglione, a treasure to rediscover after 600 years

The 600th anniversary of the Collegiate Church of Castiglione Olona will provide an important opportunity to rediscover the value of one of the most important monuments in Varese Province, and to marvel at the great historic and artistic heritage our territory contains. Ferruccio Maruca, a Councillor for Culture in the 1980s, who today is the secretary of the Via Francisca of Lucomagno, and Elena Castiglioni of Archeologistics, who in the recent past was involved in the education services of the Collegiate Church Museum, two operators in the sector, who have worked for years to make the most of the historical, artistic and monumental heritage of Varese Province, are convinced of this.

“Already the fact that, with a year to go, we’ve started to organise a programme of initiatives for the 600 years of the Collegiate Church, is an extremely positive sign of attention and awareness. And this can’t be taken for granted,” Ferruccio Maruca said. “In the 1980s, we consciously started working on the village of Castiglione Olona and on Palazzo Branda. We noticed that even the people who live in Castiglione Olona didn’t know, or they underestimated, the value of the many treasures preserved in their territory. Today is the time to rediscover this awareness, with the pleasure of marvelling at all that is precious and unique in our territory.”

“Never before, as in this period, when we are forced to limit our movements, have we had such a valuable opportunity to rediscover and enjoy the heritage of our territory,” Maruca added. “We are doing this with the path of Via Francisca, which also goes through Castiglione Olona, one of the richest stops of artistic beauty and history in the Varese area.”

There is indeed art and beauty in the Collegiate Church, but a consideration by Elena Castiglioni is more relevant than ever. “The story of Castiglione Olona is one of a great innovator, Cardinal Branda Castiglioni, who made his knowledge and his fortune available to serve the people of the village, and left such a vital mark that positively affected the quality of life of his contemporaries, that, at the same time, has come down to us, six centuries later.”

“Today, we should ask for and give our cultural heritage, which, in the Olona Valley, is represented by many places in addition to Castiglione Olona, the same things: the ability to play a role in our daily lives, and to represent and preserve, in the broadest sense, the values of our society,” Elena Castiglioni added. “The Collegiate Church of Castiglione Olona still has a lively role in the small village, just as the UNESCO sites of the Monastery in Torba and Castelseprio, and the Monastery in Cairate have in the Olona Valley. But need to ask ourselves, and to act more and more to maintain that innovative thrust, that look to the future and to the common good that Castiglione experienced 600 years ago. Over the years, there have been many positive signs, which have brought these places back into the present; today, we can walk, run and meet up in the Valley.

In the Collegiate Church, the religious functions continue, at the Monastery of Torba, there are numerous events for the local public. But today, more than ever, we feel a void; by choosing to close all of the monuments and museums, and to keep students away from these places for two years, we’re creating a deep wound. It’s good to set rules on places of culture, to regulate access, giving priority to physical health. But these places have been healing souls for many centuries; separating them from our lives will not bring us any benefit.”

 

Translated by Mariachiara Bignoli

Reviewed by Prof. Rolf Cook