page_title: Olona
section_title: From prehistory to the Middle Ages
hierarchical_section_title: Olona / History / From prehistory to the Middle Ages
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Vaso campaniforme in argilla con decorazione geometrica.
context_page_description: The Olona is an Italian river belonging to the Po Basin, 71 kilometres long, that runs through the Province of Varese and Metropolitan City of Milan whose course is developed entirely in Lombardy.
  The river born at 548 m s.l.m. in the Fornaci della Riana locality at the Rasa of Varese, at the Sacro Monte di Varese, within the Campo dei Fiori regional park. After crossing the Valle Olona and crossing the Alto Milanese, the Olona reaches Rho where it pours part of its water into the Canale Scolmatore Nord Ovest. After passing Pero, the river enters in Milan, where, at the exit of its underground route, it flows into the Lambro Meridionale, that flows into the Lambro at Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, in the quartier of San Cristoforo ending its course. Along the way, the water system formed by the Olona and the Lambro Meridionale crosses or laps 45 towns receiving the water of 19 tributaries.
  The Olona is known for the waterfalls and caves of Valganna and for having been one of the most polluted rivers in Italy. The valley carved by the river, thanks to the system of water wheels that exploited the driving force originated by the water, was one of the cradles of Italian industrialization.
context_section_description: The oldest prehistoric finds found in the areas around the natural Olona riverbed are bos primigenius bones dating back to the Würm glaciation. Unearthed in Legnano in the locality of Costa San Giorgio, they are kept in the Museo civico Guido Sutermeister.
  As for the presence of man, the oldest finds discovered around the river have been found in the area of the springs. The Lake Varese was in fact frequented, between 4300 BC and 800 BC, from a palatificula civilization. According to some authors, part of these populations, following a demographic increase, migrated south settling along the Valle Olona.
  Further downstream, between 1926 and 1928, near the border between Castellanza and Legnano, an artifact dating back to a period between 3400 BC and the 2200 BC came to light It is a small fragment of a bell-shaped vase that was made in the Copper Age and that can be connected to the Remedello culture. It was found during construction work on the Bustese highway 527 in the "Paradiso" quartier of Castellanza. This furniture is also kept in the Museo civico Guido Sutermeister.
  Further down the valley, archaeological finds belonging to Canegrate culture have been discovered. During the excavations, 165 tombs dating from the 13th century BC were identified that are referable to the recent Bronze Age The culture of Canegrate, which has an importance that goes beyond local boundaries, developed up to the Iron Age. The chronologically later furnishings, two bronze spearheads linked to the archaic Golasecca culture and always found in Legnano, date back to between the 9th and 8th centuries BC (early Iron Age).
  Along the Olona were also discovered other finds that belong to the Golasecca culture; these furnishings, which are more recent than those previously mentioned, date back to the 6th-5th century BC. The archaeological findings found along the Olona then become more and more frequent as they approach the ancient Roman conquest of the Po valley. Among them, numerous finds stand out which are connected to the La Tène culture and which were brought to light along the lower Valle Olona.
  Even after the ancient Roman conquest, it took some time for the Romanization of the Valle Olona to take place; during this phase, a Celts-Roman cultural dualism coexisted. The complete Romanization of the Valle Olona occurred during the 1st century BC; after this phase, along the banks of the river, the findings of archaeological finds became more and more frequent. This abundance of furnishings continued for another two centuries, that is, until the crisis of the 3th century AD, when a dramatic decline occurred. In Roman times, the shores of the Olona assumed significant importance due to their strategic position with respect to the communication routes between the Po valley and the Alps. In the 1st century AD, along the route drawn by the course of the river, an ancient Roman road was built, the via Severiana Augusta, which connected Mediolanum (modern Milan) with the Verbanus Lacus (Lake Maggiore), and from here to the Simplon Pass (lat. Summo Plano). The stretch of river that followed this road was channeled: there are those who hypothesize that it was this work that promoted the deviation of the Olona towards Milan.
  The road built by the ancient Romans along the river kept its strategic importance even in the Middle Ages. This transit route always came from the Valle Olona connecting Milan to the northwest of Lombardy. The Olona river maintained its strategic importance for another reason over the centuries: the river was a precious source of provisioning due to the presence, along its course, of numerous water mills. The latter continued to be strategic even in the following centuries thanks to their use for agricultural purposes. In fact, the ground wheat in these mills provided food for tens of thousands of inhabitants.
  In 1176 the banks of the river were theater of the decisive phases of the battle of Legnano. The Carroccio, escorted by hundreds of knights, was placed along an escarpment flanking the Olona with the aim of having a natural
caption: Fragment of a bell-shaped vase connected to the culture of Remedello and dating back to the III millennium BC: it is the oldest archaeological find found in Legnanese
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