An important industrial center of the plain of Milan, located between the course of the Adda and the one of the Lambro. The Romans were the first to realize the strategic position of Argentia, providing it with a stop-over point and a judiciary. For a long time, the historians believed that the name came from Gorgonzola "Kurt Argentia," indicating a settlement near the Roman town of Argentia, between Milan and Bergamo, whilst according to another interpretation, however, it indicates a horse exchange station placed at 14-mile along the road to Bergamo. Finally, a last hypothesis, is that Gorgonzola would derive from the goddess Concordia.
The village is mentioned for the first time in a document of the X century, in the XIII century it became a possession of the Milanese family of the Della Torre, who were subsequently banned by the Visconti. In the XV century, the parish of Gorgonzola became one of the most influential of the entire countryside of Milan. It was also ruled by the Marliani and the Trivulzio and, in recent centuries, the local history is often intertwined with that of the noble family Serbelloni.
The town is famous for giving its name to the famous blue cheese (Gorgonzola DOP, in fact), produced with pasteurized cow's milk, which is a mixture of lactic acid bacteria and molds that give the typical selected veins, intense of flavor and taste .
Not to miss:
- The Church of Saints Gervasio and Protasio, beautiful example of a Lombard Neoclassical building, designed by Simone Cantoni, who unfortunately died during the works of the church, completed by another great architect of Milan Giacomo Muraglia, who later erected even the bell tower. Of the original early Christian building dating from the VIII century, remains very little (just some decorations and capitals).
- Serbelloni Hospital, built in the mid-XIX century by Giacomo Muraglia in Neoclassical style;
- The Shrine of Our Lady of the Aid, formerly dedicated to St. Peter, is the oldest religious building in the city, originally part of a monastery which belonged to the order of the Umiliati (Humbled).