This ring is completely immersed in the green countryside of Brianza and is the right destination if you want to get out of the traffic and stay a bit in the middle of nature without moving too much by car. You don’t need to go near the lake or the mountains, but simply in the middle of small towns, near the town of Vertemate con Minoprio.
We start from Montesordo, a small village of Cermenate with many terraced houses just renovated where you can easily find parking. (Indicazioni https://www.google. com/maps/place/Via+Caio+Plinio,+24-26,+22072+Cermenate+CO/@45.712634,9.0835642,18z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x478699f3721de2e3:0xc2d464be7c3ae95!2sVia+Caio+Plinio,+Cermenate+CO!3 b1!8m2!3d45.7134727!4d9.0848925!3m4!1s0x478699f316787393:0xeac45951d5a8eca2!8m2!3d45.7126562!4d9.0844407)
Northbound towards a dog breeding center you continue towards the wheat fields and after a few hundred meters you turn left into the Parco della Brughiera.
Continue straight until you find a bridge on the right that allows us to cross the river that soon will take us in the middle of the nurseries of the area on the dirt road.
Continuing straight on in the direction of Minoprio, the first part of the route is asphalted and then returns to the Brughiera Park.
From here always follow the path #4 of the Vertemate Abbey that, through very characteristic paths especially in autumn, will bring us to the historical Abbey that dates back to 1086.
The abbey was founded in 1086 as a Cluniac priory by a monk named Gerard, who came from the abbey of Cluny. Consecrated in 1095 by the bishop of Imola Odone, it obtained the privilege of priory, shared with two other monasteries of the area: San Pietro di Vallate in Cosio Valtellino and San Nicola di Figina in Galbiate. In 1288 the site suffers considerable damage at the hands of the Comaschi fighting with Milan: the various buildings are occupied and reduced to a bad state. An effective reconstruction was carried out only two hundred years later, during the fifteenth century, under Pope Sixtus IV, who brought the abbey back to its ancient splendor. Under the Cisalpine Republic, in the early nineteenth century, the monks were expelled and the complex became the property of the Marquis Cusani of Desio and used as a farmhouse. Definitively abandoned during the twentieth century, the abbey was finally restored in the second half of the century by Piero Ricotti and brought back to its original appearance.
Between 1993 and 2005 a community of Benedictine monks was based there, becoming a center of spirituality in the area dedicated to various artistic activities, such as the restoration of antique books. In October 2005, however, because of the rent too high, the limited income from hospitality and the denial of permission to build a guesthouse for the hospitality of pilgrims, the community moved to another monastery in Dumenza.
Currently, therefore, the abbey is closed and unused since 2006. Continuing to go downhill, we arrive to the Seveso river that we will skirt in the stretch that makes us come back to the car. Passing by the Cascina della Volpe, we will cover a very nice stretch of road, easy for any kind of physical activity.
At the first houses, going up towards the right, we go along a paved road that, after a few kilometers, will lead us to close the ring and go back to the car.
Trail type: dirt, trail, asphalt, paved (don’t consider those small initial route detours, they were just exploratory)
Water: not present along the route, there are only some old wash houses but we don’t suggest to drink Discover outdoor, Taste nature
