Mozzate
Welcome to Mozzate: a friendly guide to the Lombard city
Welcome to Mozzate, a city in Lombardy, Italy, famous for its natural beauty and its millennia-old history. In this text, we will guide you through the physical geography of the city, its name origin, and its ancient history.
Physical Geography
Mozzate is located in the Como province of Lombardy and is home to 8,649 inhabitants. The city is crossed by the Bozzente and Gradeluso streams, which run respectively to the northeast and southwest of the town. Numerous torrential "valleys" flowing into the Bozzente, such as the Antiga, Lambarin, and Vaiadiga, flow into the Prei and Pirra valleys. Such watercourses have marked the history of Mozzate, causing several floods over the years.
Turning to the flora and fauna of the area, there were once vast forests and pinewoods to the southwest and north of the municipal territory, now limited to some protected areas such as the Regional Park of the Pineta di Appiano Gentile and Tradate. The San Martino hamlet of Mozzate, on the other hand, is characterized by the countryside and the presence of a lot of greenery in the area bordering Limido Comasco. Lastly, the climate of Mozzate is temperate with a hot summer, with minimum temperatures among the coolest in the area.
Name origin
The origin of the name "Mozzate" still remains a mystery today. According to some scholars, it would derive from the Celtic "mota," which means "height" and "hill," as also demonstrated by the Western Lombard dialect terms "mòtta" and "mont." Others instead believe that it derives from the personal name Mozzo, widespread in the Middle Ages. The first attestation of the name "Mozao" appears in an ancient document from 712.
History
Ancient Age
Mozzate was located in the area of the Golasecca culture and followed the events of its region starting from the 5th century BC, boasting the advantage of a network of trades revolving around the new proto-urban center of the Foundation of Milan. The settlements of the Insubri occupied the territory of Mozzate, which underwent a process of integration with the Roman presence in the Po Valley.
The "Via Mediolanum-Bilitio," which connected Mediolanum (Milan) with Luganum (Lugano) passing through Varisium (Varese), passed through "Mozatum," the Roman name of Mozzate. With the arrival of Christianity, rural chapels were founded that denote military patrons such as Saint Martin of Tours and the holder of the current parish.
Conclusion
Mozzate is a Lombard city rich in history and natural beauty. The presence of watercourses such as Bozzente and Gradeluso, the presence of protected forests such as the Regional Park of the Pineta di Appiano Gentile and Tradate, and the strategic position of the city on the Via Mediolanum-Bilitio make it a place of great cultural and natural value. Come visit Mozzate and discover the beauty of Lombardy!
