Discover Cesate: Nature and Churches

Cesate can be explored from two distinct perspectives during your stay: through its natural areas and trails, and through its churches, each with its own architectural and artistic history. When planning your stay, you can consider your interests in nature and culture separately. This gives both walking and cycling, as well as architecture and religious art, a clear place in your plans.

Nature and Trails

The Pineta di Cesate covers 181 hectares and is recognized as a Site of Community Importance (SCI) under the EU Habitats Directive. The area figure conveys the size of this natural area; its recognition under the directive indicates its formal European designation. These describe different aspects of the Pineta and provide a concrete point of reference if you are interested in the area's natural surroundings.

The landscape of Parco delle Groane is largely characterized by clay soils. It includes extensive heathland, as well as pine and birch forests that give way in the north to tall oak and hornbeam forests. Its habitats are also varied: forests and farmland sit alongside wetlands inhabited by amphibians, as well as heathland. The natural environment therefore ranges from different soil and forest landscapes to wetlands and open areas.

As well as the landscape, the extensive network of walking and cycling trails is important for finding your way around Parco delle Groane. Families and people taking part in sports use the trails. If you would like to include outdoor exercise in your travel plans, this network is a useful starting point; the description of the landscape, in turn, helps you understand the park's different natural areas. The trails and habitats thus cater to different interests: one concerns getting around on foot or by bike, the other the character of the surroundings.

Churches, Architectural History, and Art

The Chiesa parrocchiale di San Francesco was designed by Ignazio Gardella and completed in 1958. The church also houses a wooden Stations of the Cross by Alessandro Nastasio. Two specific aspects are presented here: the architecture, with its architect and year of completion, and an artwork with its own attribution. For a cultural focus in Cesate, the combination of architectural history and religious art offers a clear starting point.

The Chiesa Parrocchiale dei Santi Alessandro e Martino dates from 1619 and was extended in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its history therefore cannot be reduced to a single phase of construction. Its furnishings include a high altar made of polychrome marble, with an 18th-century ciborium. The details about its origins, extensions, and furnishings refer to different periods: the construction date identifies its early beginnings, while the extensions and the dated ciborium add later phases to the picture.

The Chiesa Parrocchiale dei Santi Alessandro e Martino is accessible to people with disabilities. A path on the left side of the church leads to a ramp for people with reduced mobility. This information is useful if you are planning to visit the church and need to use this entrance.

The Santuario della Beata Vergine delle Grazie (detta del Latte) was probably built in the 17th century. It has a square floor plan and a dome. Its late Baroque altarpiece, from the late 18th century, depicts the allegory of the Madonna del Latte. The construction date is explicitly uncertain, while the altarpiece is dated to the late 18th century. The floor plan and dome describe the sanctuary's form; the altarpiece adds its own artistic and historical dimension.

This gives you a clear distinction when choosing between nature and culture: in the park, the focus is on landscapes and a trail network; at the churches, it is on building phases, accessibility, and specific artworks. These themes offer different ways to shape your stay in Cesate.

Discover more destinations: Busto Garolfo, Morimondo, Pero, Senago, Cernusco Sul Naviglio, Cesano Maderno, Vanzaghello, Abbiategrasso

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