Centuries of history enclosed in a unique village.
Archaeological finds from the Roman era, discovered in and around Lesa, testify to the ancient settlement of the area and, likely, the origin of its name: Lexa. The lack of documentation prior to the 8th century hampers the historical evolution of the territory, which, in the Frankish era, merged into the court (curtis regia) of Lesa, which included the towns of Solcio and Villa Lesa.
The progressive division of land ownership in the area is evidenced by some documents (998-1014), relating to land disputes involving the bishop of Tortona, Liutfredo, and which also concern localities in the Lago Maggiore
The estates in question were located in the villages of Stresa, Baveno, Carciano, with the castle of Isola Madre (S. Vittore) and a castle "qui clamatur Lexa Leocarni" not otherwise identified, but likely referring to the "castellaccio" located near the lake shore and of which only the remains of the perimeter walls remain.
Thus, between the 10th and 11th centuries, forms of power emerged based on the ability of certain entities or individuals to carve out a portion of territory, usually fortified, and to compel their subjects to provide services or pay tribute. Among these entities, the Benedictine Abbey of Arona acquired the greatest importance, with assets and rights spread across a broad stretch of the Verbania coastline.
The expansion of the Municipality of Milan, headed by its archbishop as imperial vicar and 'lord', was achieved at the expense of the Arona monastery, incorporating the three areas: the castle of Meina, Lesa and Vergante, subject to Milanese jurisdiction.
Having thus subjugated the coastal strip, the archbishop's mensa proceeded to administratively reorganize the area, making Lesa the capital of a territorial area, or jurisdiction, which, while maintaining a distinction between the three original components, defined the Vergante area as a single territory. The archbishop then renovated Lesa's castle, transforming it into a toll post.
Navigation on the lake, with the construction of the Naviglio Grande, became a key factor in the expansion of the Municipality of Milan and its trade. The Lesa area, including Villa Lesa and Solcio, rich and renowned for its vineyards and orchards, had its port and market (until 1312) as the defining and preeminent tools for establishing itself as the capital of the new district, now known as Vergante.
After the death of Archbishop Ottone Visconti (1295), his nephew Matteo the Great obtained the imperial vicariate, marking the beginning of the rule of the Visconti family. The archiepiscopal table still retained some of its original rights, as evidenced by the regulation of the Lesa toll made by Archbishop Giovanni Visconti in 1348; a duty that lasted until the Napoleonic abolition of fiefdoms. The list of goods that passed through the lake is an eloquent indication of local artisanal activities and the economy that depended on Milan. Fishing rights were contracted out to locals, as was the collection of tolls on goods in transit.
Another source of considerable interest is the "Consignationes" of the assets and rights belonging to the archiepiscopal in the Vergante area, issued to Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo between 1379 and 1382. The notary Giorgio Carpano received the consuls and men of the various localities in the castle of Lesa, who declared the duties and obligations to which they were obliged. The same archbishop approved the Statutes of Lesa, Vergante, and Castellanza di Meina in 1389.
Arona and the fortress, along with its associated rights and appurtenances, passed to the Duke's general treasurer, Vitaliano Borromeo, in 1439, with the title of count. In 1441, it was the turn of the Lesa area, including the entire Vergante area, where the Borromeos reinstated the position and function of the praetor or podestà for the administration of justice. He resided in the praetorian palace in Lesa, equipped with a meeting hall and prisons, with a "barigello" and several guards.
In 1603, the historian Fra Paolo Morigia praised Lesa: "This village is well populated, and many nobles and wealthy merchants live there; and in addition to the large number of vineyards where such delicate wines are produced, its territory is equally fertile, filled with various types of fruit. Pleasant places, suitable for bird-hunting and hunting."
In 1748, with the Treaty of Aachen that ended the War of the Austrian Succession, Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy obtained the upper Novara area, including Lesa, from Maria Theresa of Austria, which became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. At the end of the 18th century, the Community of Vergante dissolved under the pressure of Napoleon's armies and the new European order. During the brief Napoleonic period (1797–1815), Lesa was first included in the Cisalpine Republic and then in the Department of Agogna, part of the Italian Republic, which became the Kingdom of Italy in 1805. With the fall of Napoleon in 1815, Lesa returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia and subsequently, in 1861, became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
In the spiritual sphere, the Romanesque church of S. Martino di Lesa, included in the territory of the parish of Gozzano, had two, and then three portional parish priests for the three centres: Lesa, Villa Lesa and Solcio, which over time gave rise to three distinct parishes.
Of the church of San Martino, in 1710, the historian Gio. Giuseppe Vagliano reported: "The parish church is so nobly constructed in the Doric order that it could serve as the main church of any city. Numerous paintings by the most renowned modern painters are always displayed there, forming friezes of continuous festive display." The church of Villa Lesa preserves a valuable 16th-century Crucifixion, frescoed by Giovanni Maria de Rumo. The isolated Romanesque church of San Sebastiano is particularly evocative.
A scion of the Borromeo family, Damiano, lived in Lesa, as evidenced by the heraldic coat of arms frescoed on the palace which passed to the Cacciapiatti family from Novara, related to the Stampa. Francesco Stampa, around 1787 he enlarged the villa, then extending it towards the lake with two wings which were cut off by the opening of the Sempione road in 1805.
Upon the death of her husband, Decio Stefano StampaThe villa was inherited by his son Stefano and his wife Teresa Borri, who became Alessandro Manzoni's second wife in 1837. The great writer spent long periods here in Lesa between 1839 and 1857, particularly during his "forced exile" from May 1848 to September 1850, following the arrest of his son Filippo after the Five Days of Revolt and the publication of the ode "March 1821," which had threatened his continued stay in Milan. A room behind the villa houses the Sala Manzoniana, with literary and historical documentation of the Risorgimento. It bears witness to the important role played by Lesa in the first half of the 19th century.
Manzoni's relationship and acquaintance with Rosmini constitute the most significant moment on this side of the Verbano, a meeting place for Lombard and Piedmontese intellectuals engaged in the difficult undertaking of the Risorgimento. Among them were personalities such as Pietro Borsieri and the Cairoli family in Belgirate, Giacinto Provana di Collegno in Baveno, the Arconati family in Pallanza, Massimo D'Azeglio in Cannero, Giulio Carcano in Lesa, Cesare Correnti in Solcio.
Alessandro Manzoni's stays in Lesia encouraged the construction of prestigious villas for prominent figures, such as the writer and patriot Giulio Carcano (1812-1884), who died here and wanted to be buried. His friend and parliamentarian Cesare Correnti (1815-1888) died in the villa of Solcio, a short distance from the prestigious residence of the senator Gaspare Cavallini (1817-1903). In the Villa hamlet, however, the parliamentarian Francesco Guglianetti (1818 – 1872) and the senator Francesco Conelli De Prosperi (1801 – 1877) built their residences. After them, other important figures chose Lesa as their summer residence.
But already in the eighteenth century the historian Vagliano recalled other buildings belonging to wealthy families: "This village shines among the friezes of many palaces continuously inhabited by nobles, which form a beautiful scene with noble facades."
The Erno stream, which in the Middle Ages powered some mills, powered some important factories during the 19th century: "Various industrial cotton factories owned by the Vanzina family and a large wool mill owned by the Sala, Gastaldetti & C. company", the Alliata cotton mill and the Diana paper mill.
In more recent times, the renowned Herno company emerged: "From that 1948 cotton, treated with castor oil from decommissioned war planes, a young Giuseppe Marenzi and his wife Alessandra Diana saw the possibility of turning it into a business." By 1968, Herno was already known in Japan and, shortly thereafter, in the USA.
The "Castellaccio"It has become a meeting point for the residents of Lesa, especially during hot summer days, when people indulge in a dip in the lake. But this place also represents an important part of our town's history, a symbol that deserves to be rediscovered.
The region's commercial tradition has deep roots in ancient times, well before the arrival of the Romans, who radically changed the territorial organization of Verbano. Celts and Etruscans already traded in these areas, and Roman influence is still visible in the names of places and people, as well as in our dialect. After centuries of conflict and invasions, the Archbishop of Milan secured control of a network of castles in Vergante.
In the Middle Ages, Lesa acquired significant importance. The “curia” developed between the tenth and twelfth centuries, and the “Castellaccio” was built to monitor commercial traffic on the Lago Maggiore, to the detriment of other villages.
The story becomes intriguing: with the rise of the Visconti family in Milan towards the end of the 1200th century and the settlement of some branches of the family in the Vergante area, the Castellaccio It assumed the role of customs house around the mid-fourteenth century. An interesting detail concerns the period of construction of the Milan Cathedral, during which blocks of Candoglia marble passed through without paying tolls, marked "AUF" (Ad Usum Fabrica).
Tolls on the lake and land were likely collected until the seventeenth century, but Lesa retained some economic and legal privileges even afterward. With the fall of Napoleon, the town lost some of its importance, with territories passing to Pallanza and Novara.
In 1848, during the first war of independence, Alessandro Manzoni took refuge in Lesa. It was a period of great turmoil, with the Lago Maggiore marking a clear border between Milan, under Habsburg rule, and Turin, capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Who knows if Manzoni, arriving in Lesa by lake, noticed this ruined castle, which once represented an important link with Milan.
Don't miss the opportunity to take a pleasant walk or relax on the beach. Castellaccio, overlooking the lake. Lesa's history awaits you, ready to be discovered.
THE CASTELLACCIO: ANCIENT CUSTOMS HOUSE SINCE THE 11TH CENTURY
The "Castellaccio"It has become a meeting point for the residents of Lesa, especially during hot summer days, when people indulge in a dip in the lake. But this place also represents an important part of our town's history, a symbol that deserves to be rediscovered.
The region's commercial tradition has deep roots in ancient times, well before the arrival of the Romans, who radically changed the territorial organization of Verbano. Celts and Etruscans already traded in these areas, and Roman influence is still visible in the names of places and people, as well as in our dialect. After centuries of conflict and invasions, the Archbishop of Milan secured control of a network of castles in Vergante.
In the Middle Ages, Lesa acquired significant importance. The “curia” developed between the tenth and twelfth centuries, and the “Castellaccio” was built to monitor commercial traffic on the Lago Maggiore, to the detriment of other villages.
The story becomes intriguing: with the rise of the Visconti family in Milan towards the end of the 1200th century and the settlement of some branches of the family in the Vergante area, the Castellaccio It assumed the role of customs house around the mid-fourteenth century. An interesting detail concerns the period of construction of the Milan Cathedral, during which blocks of Candoglia marble passed through without paying tolls, marked "AUF" (Ad Usum Fabrica).
Tolls on the lake and land were likely collected until the seventeenth century, but Lesa retained some economic and legal privileges even afterward. With the fall of Napoleon, the town lost some of its importance, with territories passing to Pallanza and Novara.
In 1848, during the first war of independence, Alessandro Manzoni took refuge in Lesa. It was a period of great turmoil, with the Lago Maggiore marking a clear border between Milan, under Habsburg rule, and Turin, capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Who knows if Manzoni, arriving in Lesa by lake, noticed this ruined castle, which once represented an important link with Milan.
Don't miss the opportunity to take a pleasant walk or relax on the beach. Castellaccio, overlooking the lake. Lesa's history awaits you, ready to be discovered.
