The Monastery of Cairate

The historical Seprio countryside is home to the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria Assunta, which was founded in 737 by Manigunda, a Lombard noblewoman connected to the royal court of Pavia, as a way to fulfil a vow following a healing. The first reliable document in which the Monastery is mentioned is a Papal bull written by Pope John VIII in 877 to confirm the extra-diocesan monasteries of Cairate and Sesto Calende, to the Bishop of Pavia. According to tradition, the night before the battle of Legnano, "Barbarossa" let his army rest on the plain of Cairate, while he was hosted in the guestrooms. After this important battle, the influence of Milan inevitably increased, first with the Torriani family and then with the Viscontis, after the destruction of Castelseprio in 1287. The new situation is documented also inside the Monastery with the Visconti coats of arms painted and carved, together with those of the Cairati family. There was also a Visconti residence in the village, known as "the castle", which later became the home of the feudatory. After the Viscontis, the Sforzas too granted privileges to the monastery. During the work to adapt the building to the new regulations issued by the Council of Trento, the monastery church took on a new architectural appearance and was decorated with frescoes by Aurelio Luini. In an adjacent room, there are even older frescoes, that date back to approximately 1480, although their taste and inspiration are clearly medieval; they were possibly by young artists working in nearby Castiglione Olona, which was a breeding ground of art, between the Late Gothic and the Renaissance periods.

The Sarcophagus of Manigunda
During the restoration and redevelopment work on the Monastery of Cairate, carried out by Varese Province, some precious frescoes were returned to their former glory. It was on that occasion that a sarcophagus was found, which can still be seen today, that contained the remains of a "richly dressed" woman, thought to be Manigunda, the founder.

The Fresco by Aurelio Luini
The work of Aurelio Luini, the son of the more famous Bernardino, is well-known. Thanks to the cooperation with the Superintendency for Environmental and Architectural Heritage of Milan, the fresco by Luini was "ripped away" from the wall, to be restored and then returned to its original place. This impressively large fresco (14 metres high, and 9 metres wide) is the most important of the known works of Aurelio Luini.

Information: www.proloco.net/pro-cairate/mon2.html