Brenno Useria
Brenno Useria: a village with three churches
Hello everyone! Today I want to tell you about Brenno Useria, a beautiful hamlet in the Municipality of Arcisate, in the province of Varese. But did you know that until January 1929 Brenno was an independent municipality? In the past, it was part of the province of Varese and, even earlier, of that of Como.
Brenno is also famous for its hill, called Useria, on which stands the wonderful Sanctuary of Useria. This is one of the three consecrated churches in the village and has the particularity of being dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Every year, the Monday of the Angel is celebrated. The current sanctuary was rebuilt in the seventeenth century, although there was previously another building. A gigantic cross, called "Crocione," was placed on the top of Useria in the early years of the twentieth century.
The other two churches are the parish church of S. Maria Immacolata and the chapel of S. Antonio abate, which is located next to the parish church. Weekday masses are celebrated in this chapel.
The white stone of Brenno
You will also discover that Brenno has an interesting story. In the last century, the village was famous for its quarry of white stone, called Predera. This stone had extraordinary characteristics: it was very soft, of a beautiful white color, and almost free of impurities or irregularities. Because of these peculiarities, it was perfect for sculpture and was considered on a par with Carrara marble! The stonemasons of Brenno were very skillful and some of them emigrated to the United States. Even today, in the village, it is possible to admire commemorative plaques, the monument to the fallen, and the statues in the church.
The history of Brenno
Brenno is a village that has changed its administrative reference often for centuries. In 1751, it was a small village with just 191 inhabitants. In 1786, it became part of the short-lived Province of Varese before ending up under the jurisdiction of several provinces during the eighteenth century. In 1805, when the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed, Brenno had 313 inhabitants. In 1812, its union with Arcisate was decided, but some years later autonomy was reinstated. In 1853, the village had 563 inhabitants, rising to 666 in 1871, before stabilizing until 1921 with 751 residents. Finally, in 1928, fascism definitively established the annexation to Arcisate.
The cholera outbreak in the early nineteenth century
Finally, I want to tell you a curiosity. In G.B. Grassi Street, in Brenno, there is a small chapel dedicated to the Sorrowful Mother. It was erected in 1837 as a vow for the victims of cholera on the remains of the seventeenth-century chapel of S. Michele Arcangelo. Inside, there is an inscription that I report to you:
"In the Eastern Indies, the mysterious and deadly scourge of Cholera Morbus arose. After XIX years of crawling around the globe, human knowledge remained confused in the middle. The only comfort left was to humble oneself to God. It arrived in Brenno with a terrible aspect in September MDCCCXXXVI, from common devotion to God and B."
Here is another element of the history of Brenno, a village that has a lot to offer to those who visit it!
