While the main attractions that should bring you to Angera is
the Rocca di Angera (Angera
Castle) with its Park and its Museum of Dolls, if you have extra time left, do
not miss the small but interesting Museum of Archeology.
Angera Museum of Archeology
The Museum of Archeology is housed in a late Fifteenth Century building with a
small courtyard and portico situated at no. 2, Via Marconi. The museum exhibits
are displayed in two rooms, the first dedicated to Prehistory and Proto-history
and the second to the Roman Era.
The pre-historical room illustrates the first traces of human presence in Angera, the
oldest in the entire area around Varese, resulting from searches and digs
performed from the second half of the Nineteenth Century onwards. The finds,
litchi works dating back to the end of the Paleolithic Age, mostly originate
from the Tana del Lupo (The Wolf’s Den), a natural cave situated at the
foot of the rock face which was later topped by the Fortress. Tools, weapons and
faunal remains from the Mesolithic and Neolithic Ages were found in the same
area.
This cave is better known as the Cave of Mithras, believed to have been
dedicated to the cult of the ancient Persian God.
The second room mainly contains the wealth found in the great necropolis situated under the
current cemetery, discovered between 1971 and 1979.
The digs brought to the light a large number of burial places dating back to between the
end of the First Century B.C. and the Third Century A.D.. The ritual observed
for the interment ceremony was prevalently direct cremation: the body, laid
carefully on a wooden stretcher, was burnt directly over the pit in which it
would then be buried alongside symbolic objects and offerings of food, drink and
essences.
Do not miss the deathbed with terracotta decorations.
Only a very small part of the significant number of inscriptions and figurative monuments
that gave the vicus (Latin for quarter or district) of Angera a
monumental appearance during the Imperial Era are on display in the Museum. The
most important of these are on show at the Museum of Varese and the Museum of
Milan, and testify to the presence of figures of high social standing and to the
development of the settlement alongside the expansion of Roman traffic and
interests in the Transalpine regions.
Angera historical background
The first signs of human presence in Angera, the oldest in the entire area around Varese,
date back to after the ice age.
They include findings starting from the mid nineteenth century in the natural cave
referred to as the Tana del Lupo (The Wolf’s Den), situated at the foot
of the rock face which is topped by the Fortress.
The land continued to be inhabited by both hunters and gatherers, who preferred settlements
close to lakes or in the vicinity of waterways.
Etruscan exchanges with the regions of Europe inhabited by Celts passed
through the territory of the Golasecca civilization, mostly across
the Ticino river. This controlling and pivoting role for the passage of
goods and people continued over time and became even more important during
the Roman era when Angera - the current name which dates back to no earlier
than the twelfth century - was called Statio (a stopping place to
change horses), thus demonstrating the crucial role of Angera as a traffic
nodal point.
From the end of the fourth
century to the middle of the fifth century, the settlement underwent a period of
decline, as shown by the burial places found amid the ruins of a large building
in the center of the Vicus (Latin for quarter or district).
The Visigoths destroyed
Milan, Angera and its center in the year 411. The land was given to Theodosius,
the archbishop of Milan, who ruled until the area was destroyed by the Franks in 539.
The High Middle Ages witnessed the establishment of the
first fortifications where the
Fortress now lies, and Angera and its castle became part of the estate of
the archbishops of Milan during the eleventh century.
During the thirteenth
century, the Visconti were the seigniors of Milan and Angera, and in1397
Emperor Wenceslas nominated Gian Galeazzo count of Angera.In 1449, the Ambrosian
Republic sold the fiefdom to the Borromeo Family, but not the title of count,
which continued to be held by Ludovico il Moro “The Moor”
who wished to outrank the Borromeo family and gain favor among the people of
Angera, raising its status from village to town and establishing the captaincy
headquarters of Lake Maggiore there.
Angera was under Spanish rule for two
centuries, followed by the Austrians, whose rule
lasted until 1861, except for a brief stint under Napoleon.
The Treaty of Worms, in 1744,
ratified the passage of the western shore of Lake Maggiore to Piedmont, and so
Angera became a border town, which led to the commercial decline of the town,
later attenuated and re-established thanks to the construction of the Austrian
customs port (completed in 1821) and later with the advent of the unification of
Italy.
How to get to Angera By train: Take the Trenitalia (National Railways) Milano-Sempione line to the Arona station (about one hour from Milan),
then catch a boat to Angera.
The lake is served by a number of boat companies offering regular
connections to all destinations, including the Navigazione Lago Maggiore and other private companies. Connections between
Arona and Angera are very frequent.
The Visigoths destroyed
Milan, Angera and its center in the year 411. The land was given to Theodosius,
the archbishop of Milan, who ruled until the area was destroyed by the Franks in 539.