Saronno

Italian city in the province of Varese. Among the religious architecture which need to be visited there is the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Miracles, built in the 16th century, while among the civil ones there are Palazzo Visconti, which belonged to the namesake family, and villa Giannetti, built in the Renaissance Lombard style in the 1920s.

From a gastronomic point of view, it is possible to taste various typical products in Saronno: one of the most famous is the Bruscitt Da Saronn, based on horse or donkey meat. The Marmott is a rustic sweet similar to our Italian Panettone. In this dessert there are three different types of flour: corn, wholemeal rye and wheat. The dough also contains dried fruit (nuts, more than anything else), dried figs and apples.

How can we forget to mention Disaronno? This liqueur is the bearer of the meaning of affection and friendship. A local legend tells that Bernardino Luini, a painter, was summoned to Saronno to fresco the Sanctuary with the “Madonna con l’Adorazione dei Magi”. Luini stayed at a local Inn, falling in love with his innkeeper so much that he took her as a muse and portrayed her in the painting in the guise of the Virgin Mary. Out of gratitude, she offered him an elixir of toasted sugar, herbs, bitter almonds and brandy: this is how the famous liqueur was born. Today it is among the most exported and widespread Italian products among spirits abroad.

The historic headquarters of the company that produces the branded liqueur is still located in Saronno. Among the typical sweets there is also the Amaretto (today spread throughout Italy) and produced by the historic Lazzaroni company which holds the registered trademark "Amaretto di Saronno". Here too we can find a legend, reported by the Lazzaroni company in the packaging of his biscuits, which tells how, in 1717, the Cardinal of Milan visited the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Miracles and that here, for a young couple, he prepared a dough that then gave life to the recipe of the famous Amaretti.