Turate
Turate: A Journey Through Its History and Beauty
Turate is an Italian municipality in the province of Como in Lombardy, with a population of approximately 9,381 inhabitants. Its name, derived from the Roman term ''Turatum'', refers to the ancient Mediolanum-Bilitio road, which connected Milan with Lugano through Varese. In this article, we will delve into the history and beauty of this wonderful Lombard village.
History
The territory of Turate was inhabited by the Insubri, a pre-Roman population, before the arrival of the ancient Romans. In 712, the Lombard king Liutprando donated the land of Turate to the San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro monastery in Pavia, referred to as ''Thurao''. In 1346, ''el locho da Turà'' was one of the localities that, within the Appiano parish, were responsible for the maintenance of the so-called ''strata da Bolà''. During the Duchy of Milan, the history of the village in the late Middle Ages and modern age was closely linked to the Lombard noble family Caimi. Phillip IV of Spain granted Turate in fief to this family in 1623, which exercised its feudal rights until 1785, when the last male heir of the family died. After the abolition of the feudal system by Napoleon, Turate also became a free and fully autonomous village.
Symbols
The Municipality of Turate possesses a coat of arms and a gonfalon, granted by a decree of the President of the Republic on 1 October 1951. The coat of arms was already present in the ''Stemmario di Marco Cremosano'' of the seventeenth century, while the gonfalon is a divided cloth of blue and white.
Monuments and Places of Interest
Turate's center preserves a large artistic and cultural heritage, which includes buildings and places of great historical and religious interest.
Church of Saints Peter and Paul
The church of Saints Peter and Paul, perhaps built around the year 1000 on the site of an ancient cemetery, is documented within the Appiano parish already in the thirteenth century. Initially, the church had a central door on the facade with a window and two doors provided with windows on the north side. Over the centuries, the church underwent multiple modifications, including the addition of Baroque decorations and the reconstruction of the facade in 1893. Today, the church preserves many works of art, including sixteenth-century frescoes and eighteenth-century paintings.
Curiosities
Turate's main street, Via Cavour, was named after the famous Piedmontese statesman Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, who visited the village in the 1850s.
Conclusions
Turate is a village rich in history and charm, which preserves an important artistic and cultural heritage. The church of Saints Peter and Paul is a place of great historical and religious interest, preserving many precious works of art. The center of Turate deserves to be visited to discover the beauty and history of this fascinating Lombard municipality.
