Crugnola: Churches, History and Hiking

Crugnola brings together three distinct themes for your stay: the industrial history of Angelino Super-Moto, the architecture of the Chiesa della Beata Vergine Assunta and the Sentiero TSP. You can get to know the town through local history, sacred architecture or hiking. These themes appeal to different interests and can be included in your travel plans individually.

Church and Industrial History

Luigi Angelino founded the motorcycle manufacturer Angelino Super-Moto in 1925 in the hamlet of Crugnola. A church dedicated to Saint Giulio already stood in Crugnola in 1566. The two dates represent different historical themes: 1566 marks an early ecclesiastical connection, while 1925 marks an industrial milestone. The company’s history thus complements the focus on sacred buildings with another local highlight.

Church Architecture in Crugnola

The Chiesa della Beata Vergine Assunta took on its present appearance following renovations in the early 20th century. Its single-nave interior includes two side chapels and a semicircular apse. The Neo-Romanesque façade has a gabled roof; a long staircase stands in front of it, and two corner pilasters frame it. Inside, Baroque decoration has been preserved, including stucco, capitals, trompe-l’œil paintings and a marble high altar. Trompe-l’œil refers to illusionistic paintings that create a sense of space; alongside the sculpted stucco details, this painting technique adds a distinctive accent.

A single-nave church has one main nave, with side chapels extending off it and a semicircular apse closing off the space. These terms describe the floor plan. By contrast, the gabled roof, the staircase in front and the corner pilasters are features of the façade. The Neo-Romanesque exterior and the Baroque interior decoration represent two distinct stylistic layers of the church. The former Chapel of San Giulio is a rustic stone building with a low-arched portal.

Hiking the Sentiero TSP

The long-distance hiking trail Sentiero TSP, described in March 2021, starts in Crugnola and is 36.3 kilometres long in total. A circular hike on the TSP, also described in March 2021, likewise starts and ends in Crugnola; it is about 12 kilometres long, easy and has only slight elevation changes. The two distances refer to different routes: the entire long-distance trail and a specific circular hike.

After leaving the town centre, the route described in March 2021 follows a paved road for ten minutes between meadows and woods, then descends into a hollow. From there, an unpaved path branches off through a deciduous forest. A route description from March 2021 mentions a large car park on Via Verdi and a sign with a topographic map of the TSP nearby. Check this information on site and also check current trail conditions.

The ten-minute estimate applies to the stretch along the paved road, not to the entire hike. The change in surface is also useful for navigation: the paved road is followed by a hollow and an unpaved forest path. This helps distinguish the described stretch between meadows and woods from the deciduous forest section that follows.

Discover more destinations: Gavirate, Colmegna, Brenta, Malgesso, Gallarate, Barza, Valganna, Pino Sulla Sponda Del Lago Maggiore

For the main travel overview: Varese.