Albavilla has a very ancient history. Evidence dug up in the Buco del Piombo cave, an extraordinary natural open-air museum is proof of the presence of man here since the Palaeolithic Age.

Not to mention the Roman era, which left traces throughout this area in the form of utensils, coins, amphorae, bronzes and terracotta. The most evident signs from medieval times were then left by the passage of Barbarossa. In the village of Carcano, in fact, are remains of the castle where he barricaded his troops during their retreat in the summer of 1160.

Whereas the most significant clue to Napoleonic domination is the name given to te high plain (easy to reach from the town even by car) that stretches from the spurs of Monte Bolettone: the Alpe del Viceré or Viceroy’s Alp is named after Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleon’s stepson and viceroy of Italy from 1805 to 1814.

It has always been a holiday destination (not by chance is it called “villa”) and today, nestling in the countryside, it is even more popular than ever with the inhabitants of Milan, who choose it to get away from hectic city life. Surrounded by woods of chestnut, beech, oak, ash and maple trees, it is also home to protected flowers and so picking of the local daffodils or irises is forbidden, as they are a joy to behold but must remain here!

A typical Albavilla proverb? “Quand el vegn la fous d’està, la stagion la va a maa”. Which translated means: the season will be a bad one if, in the summer, water runs in the “foce”, the ancient stone washing place that still stands in the old town centre