Misplaced Pages

#776223

98-574: The core of the Alto Milanese consists of the Olona conurbation, i.e. the urban area including, from north to south, the cities of Gallarate , Busto Arsizio , and Legnano . Alto Milanese, which is one of the most industrialized and densely populated areas in Italy , has a population of about 700,000 inhabitants spread over an area of 235 square kilometers. The primary communication network consists of

196-545: A Lombardic superstratum . Some scholars have discerned in it traces of the languages of peoples prior to the Latinization of the region, in particular ancient Ligurian , although data on the actual influence of this linguistic substratum are few and of varying interpretation. On the other hand, the linguistic influence that the Celts had on the local dialects of the Alto Milanese was conspicuous, so much so that even today

294-423: A soil conditioner . It is also used to describe a topsoil horizon that contains organic matter ( humus type , humus form , or humus profile ). Humus has many nutrients that improve the health of soil, nitrogen being the most important. The ratio of carbon to nitrogen ( C:N ) of humus commonly ranges between 8:1 and 15:1 with the median being about 12:1. It also significantly improves (decreases)

392-482: A temperate climate , was the scene of the development of settlements since ancient times. During the Early Middle Ages , the Alto Milanese was divided between the counties of Seprio (with the capital Castelseprio ) and Burgaria (probably linked to Parabiago ), two counties dependent on the march of Lombardy ; between the 13th and 15th centuries, with the dissolution and disappearance of the two counties,

490-577: A temperate climate , was the scene of the development of settlements since prehistoric times. In Cadrezzate and on the areas along the shores of Lake Monate , pile-dwelling settlements have been found at Il Sabbione, and in 2011 they were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List along with other ancient settlements in the Alps from prehistoric times. These populations, according to scholars' hypotheses, then migrated south through

588-436: A castle was erected upon the remains of the original Roman fortifications located beside the still-existing Basilica of Santa Maria. The castle has disappeared, but its ancient location is identified through the city's topography and by the street name Via Postcastello. After the obliteration of Castelseprio by Ottone Visconti in 1287, Gallarate became the capital of the vast Seprio county. During these years, Gallarate saw

686-536: A certain protectionism , especially with regard to yarns and textiles in common use: this put the Italian cotton industry in a better position to withstand competition from the English cotton industry. This led to the great expansion achieved by the Italian textile industry, which peaked from 1890 to 1906. The machines used in the textile industry, which were increasingly efficient and therefore complex, meant that there

784-472: A decade, however, they had to give way to more organized companies, which began to create networks with a national character, such as those of the Fininvest group. The golden age of industry in the Alto Milanese, which began in the 1880s, ended in the 1960s. Thereafter, the Alto Milanese experienced a long period of crisis that led to the closure of many manufacturing activities. This unfavorable conjuncture

882-475: A few decades, Gallarate became an important industrial city. This period was also marked by heavy social tensions brought about by the rapid political and economic changes wrought by Gallarate's own industrial revolution. Nowadays, Gallarate's industrial structure no longer includes these giant industrial powerhouses of the past. Their existence, however, is still marked out by the presence of the high chimneys, which are still visible along Gallarate's skyline. Many of

980-512: A high concentration of burials that has few equals in northern Italy . The Golasecca culture is an early Iron Age culture consisting of fifty tombs with pottery and metal objects. The material evidence is found scattered over a wide territory of 20,000 km south of the Alps, including the Po , Serio and Sesia rivers bounded on the north by the Alpine passes. The greatest density of finds has been in

1078-560: A highly advanced manufacturing environment, still placing it in the 21st century among the most developed and industrialized areas in Italy. Many former industrial areas were then converted to other uses, often with the disappearance of evidence of industrial archaeology. The economy of the Alto Milanese also veered toward the tertiary sector ; in particular, there was strong growth in production services, telecommunications, insurance, transportation, financial management, banking services, and, to

SECTION 10

#1732780879777

1176-455: A lesser extent, legal and computer services. However, the rate of development of the tertiary sector did not lead to sufficient growth to make up for the disappearance of the large industrial complexes of the past. The western Lombard dialect is widespread in the Alto Milanese, a local variant of the Lombard language , a Romance language derived from Latin having a Celtic substratum and

1274-585: A military union symbolically led by Pope Alexander III , the Lombard League. The battle ended the fifth and final descent into Italy of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who after the defeat at Legnano tried to resolve the Italian question by attempting the diplomatic approach. This resulted a few years later in the Peace of Constance (June 25, 1183), by which the emperor recognized the Lombard League by giving administrative, political and judicial concessions to

1372-512: A pandemic also recounted by Alessandro Manzoni in The Betrothed , which decimated the population. Industrialization in the Alto Milanese occurred in the first decades of the 19th century. What was influential in the genesis of this process was the tradition of handicrafts and that of domestic manufacturing that had been present in the productive fabric of the area for a few centuries; these activities were practiced to supplement work in

1470-571: A period of prosperity and economic growth that would last for the rest of Visconti control, until the beginning of French rule two centuries later (1498). Documents in the National Archives refer to Gallarate as an important centre of commercial exchange between both Italian and foreign markets, particularly for cotton, drapes, flax and textiles. Distinguished families such as the Rosnati, Reina, Masera, Palazzi, Macchi, Curioni, Mari and

1568-696: A result of this development, which is predominantly autonomous from that of the remaining part of the Milan metropolitan area , the Alto Milanese is one of the most industrialized and urbanized in Milan's northern hinterland . The main watercourses in the Bustese, one of the territories of the Alto Milanese, are the Olona River and its tributaries Rile and Tenore. Minor watercourses are the Fontanile di Tradate,

1666-781: Is a film festival of national importance whose goals are to promote high-quality Italian productions. Sports competitions held in the Alto Milanese include the Campaccio and Cinque Mulini cross-country races (both included in the World Athletics Cross Country Permit international circuit), the Coppa Bernocchi bicycle race, which is part of the Trittico Lombardo , and the San Giorgio su Legnano chess tournament. The Alto Milanese

1764-512: Is a focal point for local student research and adult education. Gallarate railway station , opened in 1860, is the junction of the railway lines Domodossola–Milan , Luino–Milan and Porto Ceresio–Milan . The station is a stop for several long-running trains ( EuroCity from Milan to Geneva and Basel ), of regional trains from Milan to Domodossola , and of line S5 of Milan suburban railway service , and line S30 of Ticino railway network. Humus In classical soil science , humus

1862-634: Is also home to the Consorzio Sistema Bibliotecario Nord-Ovest , a special consortium company that brings together 33 municipalities in the northwest of the metropolitan city of Milan , which provides various services to the libraries of the aggregated municipalities. The libraries in the consortium make available to users approximately 1.5 million documents (books, music CDs and DVDs) with a total of approximately 500,000 different titles. The system provides about 1.5 million loans per year. The Chapter Library of St. John

1960-402: Is amorphous; it may gradually decay over several years or persist for millennia. It has no determinate shape, structure, or quality. However, when examined under a microscope, humus may reveal tiny plant, animal, or microbial remains that have been mechanically, but not chemically, degraded. This suggests an ambiguous boundary between humus and soil organic matter, leading some authors to contest

2058-470: Is evidenced by the artifacts attributable to the Augustan Age, which gradually lost the characteristics associated with Celtic civilization and assumed those typical of Roman culture. In Roman imperial times the inhabitants of the Alto Milanese were organized administratively into vicus , communities that later gave rise to many of the modern municipalities. From the few viable rural settlements of

SECTION 20

#1732780879777

2156-507: Is formed from the slow oxidation ( redox ) of soil carbon after the incorporation of finely powdered charcoal into the topsoil , suggested to result from the grinding and mixing activity of a tropical earthworm. This process is speculated to have been important in the formation of the unusually fertile Amazonian terra preta do Indio . However, some authors suggest that complex soil organic molecules may be much less stable than previously thought: “the available evidence does not support

2254-565: Is hilly, with some valleys, such as the Olona Valley and the Arno Valley. The southern zone, on the other hand, includes the upper Po Valley . The soil, which is mainly composed of pebbles, gravel , sand and clay , was once covered by a thin layer of humus unsuitable for forest growth and agricultural cultivation, resulting in it being largely heathland . Over the centuries, due to the fertilization work done by local farmers and

2352-623: Is mainly in the spring and autumn months, although thunderstorms are frequent in hot and humid summers. The characteristic "basin" shape of the Po Valley means that there is a considerable stagnation of air both in winter and in summer, with different effects in the two seasons: in winter, when there is an accumulation of cold and a lack of wind, a marked thermal inversion is formed, which can last for several days, especially on humid and foggy days, causing very cold days and intense frost, while in summer it causes violent thunderstorms. Data from

2450-427: Is quickly transformed by white-rot fungi , is one of the primary precursors of humus, together with by-products of microbial and animal activity. The humus produced by humification is thus a mixture of compounds and complex biological chemicals of plant, animal, and microbial origin that has many functions and benefits in soil. Some judge earthworm humus ( vermicompost ) to be the optimal organic manure . Much of

2548-406: Is sometimes composted and used as a soil amendment . The primary materials needed for the process of humification are plant detritus and dead animals and microbes, excreta of all soil-dwelling organisms, and also black carbon resulting from past fires. The composition of humus varies with that of primary (plant) materials and secondary microbial and animal products. The decomposition rate of

2646-453: Is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter . It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Latin word for "earth" or "ground". In agriculture , "humus" sometimes also is used to describe mature or natural compost extracted from a woodland or other spontaneous source for use as

2744-645: The Alps . On the other hand, the Mediolanum-Verbannus road connected Mediolanum (modern Milan) with the Verbannus Lacus (Lake Verbano, i.e. Lake Maggiore and then with the Simplon Pass , through which the Alps could be crossed). According to a nineteenth-century theory it was extended by Emperor Septimius Severus . This road, aimed at land transport, was supplemented by water routes,

2842-521: The Augustan Age , that is, until the Romanization of the Alto Milanese was completed. The ancient Romans did not pursue forced assimilation of conquered populations, but allowed the inhabitants of the Alto Milanese to continue to profess their religion, use their language, and maintain their traditions. The Romanization of the area thus took place in stages. The fusion of the two cultures

2940-596: The Battle of Legnano , fought between Frederick Barbarossa 's imperial army and the troops of the Lombard League on May 29, 1176 between the towns of Legnano and Borsano  [ it ] . The clash was crucial in the long war waged by the Holy Roman Empire in an attempt to assert its power over the communes of northern Italy , who decided to put aside mutual rivalries by allying themselves in

3038-592: The Biblioteca Civica " Luigi Majno " in Gallarate. Gallarate is also the seat of the Aloysianum, a former Jesuit college, which is now a Jesuit cultural centre with an important library. Carlo Maria Martini spent the last years of his life there. In 2010 the local government built a modern art museum called Museo MAGA , hosting a Missoni exhibition in honour of the deceased Ottavio Missoni . MAGA

Alto Milanese - Misplaced Pages Continue

3136-881: The Legnanese area flows the Olona, while the Saronnese is crossed by the Lura stream, which originates in the territory of the municipality of Bizzarone and flows into the Olona. Also noteworthy are artificial canals, such as the Villoresi Canal and the Naviglio Grande , both of which cross the Alto Milanese. The climate of the Alto Milanese is characterized by a wide annual temperature range , with low minimum temperatures in winter (-4/-6 °C, even with peaks as low as -7/-10 °C) and high maximum temperatures in summer (30-32 °C, sometimes with peaks of 35 °C). Rainfall

3234-690: The Legnano dialect are notable. The Bustocco dialect (native name Bustocco ), which is the variant of Western Lombard spoken in Busto Arsizio ( Busti Grandi in Bustocco), is considerably different from both the Milanese dialect , the Varese dialects , and the other dialects spoken in the localities closest to Busto Arsizio, as well as from all other dialects of the Lombard language . In contrast,

3332-781: The President of the Italian Republic awarded the Famiglia Legnanese the Gold Medal of Merit for Culture and Art . There are two universities in the Alto Milanese area: The following theaters are present in the Alto Milanese: Gallarate Gallarate ( Italian: [ɡallaˈraːte] ; Lombard : Galaraa ) is a city and comune of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area , northern Italy, in

3430-600: The Province of Varese . It has a population of some 54,000 people. It is the junction of railways to Varese , Laveno and Arona (for the Simplon). Some 10 kilometres (6 miles) to the west are the electric works of Vizzola, where 23,000 hp are derived from the river Ticino . Its territory is crossed by the river Arnetta and belongs to the Ticino Natural Park. The city had a strong textile industry in

3528-402: The bulk density of soil. Humus is amorphous and lacks the cellular structure characteristic of organisms . The solid residue of sewage sludge treatment , which is a secondary phase in the wastewater treatment process, is also called humus. When not judged contaminated by pathogens , toxic heavy metals , or persistent organic pollutants according to standard tolerance levels, it

3626-518: The republican era , there was a shift in the imperial era to a more numerous and organized community with an urban fabric consisting of small isolated settlements in the countryside that revolved around the larger rural center. These rural communities had good agricultural productivity. With the crisis and then the fall of the Western Roman Empire , the Alto Milanese also experienced a phase of social and economic decline. In Roman times

3724-487: The soil matrix , molecular soil humus should be considered to be of significance in removing the atmosphere's current carbon dioxide overload. There is little data available on the composition of humus because it is a complex mixture that is challenging for researchers to analyze. Researchers in the 1940s and 1960s tried using chemical separation to analyze plant and humic compounds in forest and agricultural soils, but this proved impossible because extractants interacted with

3822-582: The 19th century. In between this political instability, Gallarate became a private fief of some of the competing noble Italian families such as the Bentivoglio, Pallavicino, Caracciolo, Altemps, Visconti, and Castelbarco. Gallarate became a part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1859 and received the honorary title of city with a royal decree on 19 December 1860. By the latter half of the 19th century, modern industry had begun to take over many areas of Italy. In

3920-769: The 4th and 1st centuries B.C. and are related to the La Tène culture . Finds related to the Etruscans and the Veneti have also been found in the Alto Milanese with excavations in Vergiate and Sesto Calende , respectively. Archaeological finds from the historical period immediately following the Roman conquest of the Po Valley continued to be characterized by marked Celtic features, which gradually faded until they disappeared in

4018-521: The Alto Milanese began to distinguish itself as an area of influence of Busto Arsizio , Legnano and Gallarate . In the Late Middle Ages the Alto Milanese was the scene of the Battle of Legnano and the Battle of Parabiago . The Alto Milanese is home to the western Lombard dialect, a local variant of the Lombard language , a Romance language derived from Latin having Celtic substratum and Lombardic superstratum . Noteworthy among

Alto Milanese - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-515: The Alto Milanese following a strong population increase. From the archaeological finds, it can be inferred that the Olona Valley was - already in prehistoric times - a relevant communication route. Of later date was the development of the Canegrate culture first (from the 13th century B.C. onward) and the Golasecca culture later (between the 9th and 4th centuries B.C.), whose names derive from

4214-663: The Alto Milanese was traversed by two important Roman roads , the Via Mediolanum-Bilitio and the Via Mediolanum-Verbannus . The Via Mediolanum-Bilitio connected Mediolanum (modern Milan ) with Bilitio ( Bellinzona ) or perhaps even Curia Raetorum ( Chur ) via Varisium ( Varese ) and, only hypothetically, Luganum ( Lugano ). This road, beyond Bellinzona, via Mons Vaium ( San Bernardino Pass ) or Lukmanier , led to Chur and connected to other trade routes directed to Rhaetia and beyond

4312-662: The Autostrada dei laghi ( A8 Milan-Varese , A9 Lainate-Como-Chiasso and A26 Gallarate-Gattico branch road ), Sempione state road 33, state road 233 Varesina, from state road 527 Bustese, and from the Domodossola-Milan , Luino-Gallarate and Gallarate-Varese railway lines (operated by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana ) and the Saronno-Novara line with its Sacconago-Malpensa Aeroporto branch line (operated by Ferrovienord ). The territory, which features waterways and

4410-575: The Baptist is a chapter library located in Busto Arsizio near the Basilica of St. John the Baptist . It is among the oldest libraries in the northwest area of Milan and one of the oldest cultural institutions in Lombardy . The current chapter library was officially established in 1583, but already by the end of the 14th century, a nucleus of texts collected by a group of priests had been established at

4508-532: The European continent. At the turn of the century there was also a strong commercial development. Infrastructure for the transportation of people and goods was very important for this expansion. In 1880 the Milan-Gallarate tramway  [ it ] was also built, which was discontinued in the second half of the 20th century. After World War II , the Alto Milanese was hit, like the rest of Italy, by

4606-567: The Guenzati represented the nobility and the merchant classes. This period was also noted as a time of great civic improvement and the beginning of Gallarate as a centre of industrial activity. In the late 15th century, the city fell under foreign domination, initially under the Spanish and then under the French (and then again Spanish and their Austrian successors), a condition which lasted until

4704-518: The Italian national anthem. In Legnano, to commemorate the battle, the Palio has been held annually since 1935 on the last Sunday in May. In the institutional sphere, the date of May 29 has been chosen as the regional holiday of Lombardy . The Alto Milanese was also the scene of the Battle of Parabiago , a clash that occurred on February 21, 1339, in the countryside around Parabiago and Nerviano , between

4802-599: The Milan Malpensa weather station, based on the World Meteorological Organization 's 30-year reference average (1961-1990), show that the minimum temperature in the coldest month, January, is around -4°C, while the maximum temperature in the hottest month, July, is around 28°C. The average annual rainfall is over 1,000 mm and peaks in spring and fall, with a relative minimum in winter. The Alto Milanese area, which features waterways and

4900-718: The Milanese troops of Azzone Visconti , led by Luchino Visconti , against the rebels of the Compagnia di San Giorgio led by Lodrisio Visconti , claimants to the title of Lord of Milan ; this clash ended in Azzone Visconti's victory. Starting in the Middle Ages, the presence of water from the Olona River led to the construction of mills along the river . The mills were used to grind grain, but also to operate

4998-432: The Riale delle Selve, the Mornaga, the Valdessera, the Selvagna, the Marubbio, the Riale di Torba and the Bozzone. In the Bustese area, there are no major bodies of water, while there are numerous ponds fed by the various rivulets and some resurgences, of which the major ones are Stagno Boza, Stagno di Torba, and Laghetto Madonnetta. In Gallaratese, however, the waterways are the Ticino and its tributaries Arno and Strona. In

SECTION 50

#1732780879777

5096-456: The amount of wine produced: the number of hectoliters of wine production decreased from 1,520,000 in 1838 to 550,000 in 1852. Two other vine diseases, plasmopara viticola and phylloxera , which occurred between 1879 and 1890, were the final blow to wine production. As a result of these epidemics, wine cultivation in the Alto Milanese disappeared for good, and farmers concentrated their efforts on grain production and silkworm breeding. Before

5194-438: The analysed organic matter and created many artefacts. Further research has been done in more recent years, though it remains an active field of study. Microorganisms decompose a large portion of the soil organic matter into inorganic minerals that the roots of plants can absorb as nutrients . This process is termed mineralization . In this process, nitrogen ( nitrogen cycle ) and the other nutrients ( nutrient cycle ) in

5292-414: The basilica, which later became part of the library's holdings. Also notable is the Famiglia Legnanese, a nonprofit cultural association based in Legnano inside the central Villa Jucker. The association, which has always had no political or party connotations, was founded on February 27, 1951 in Legnano on the initiative of a group of prominent figures in culture and the local economy. On March 25, 2013,

5390-404: The capital Castelseprio ) and Burgaria (probably linked to Parabiago ), two counties dependent on the March of Lombardy ; between the 13th and 15th centuries, with the dissolution and disappearance of the two counties, the Alto Milanese began to distinguish itself as an area of influence of Busto Arsizio , Legnano and Gallarate . In the Late Middle Ages the Alto Milanese was the scene of

5488-400: The communes and officially ending his attempt to hegemonize northern Italy. The battle is referred to in Goffredo Mameli and Michele Novaro 's Canto degli Italiani , which reads, “[...] From the Alps to Sicily, Legnano is everywhere [...]” in remembrance of the victory of Italian populations over foreign ones. Due to this clash, Legnano is the only city, besides Rome , to be mentioned in

5586-463: The construction of artificial canals , the territory of Alto Milanese has been made cultivable. Until the 19th century, the landscape included heathland and the cultivation of vines and cereals, while at present there is little differentiated agricultural activity, with maize being the main crop. According to seismic classification , the Alto Milanese is in zone 4 (irrelevant seismicity), as established by PCM Ordinance No. 3274 of March 20, 2003. In

5684-413: The cost of ocean transportation. The effect was a profound crisis that affected grain crops in Europe; this conjuncture peaked in the 1880s and characterized Old World agriculture until the early 20th century. This event gave a further push toward the industrialization of the Alto Milanese, as it also put into crisis the most important sector of agriculture in the area after the disappearance of vineyards and

5782-457: The craftsmen's machinery such as saws, hammers, etc. As a result, milling became an important source of income that was juxtaposed with more traditional agricultural activities such as growing wheat and vines. The oldest writing that has come down to us in which a milling plant on the Olona River is mentioned is from 1043; this mill, which was owned by Pietro Vismara, was located between Castegnate and Gabinella in Legnano. The main activity on which

5880-428: The crisis of silkworm breeding: cereal cultivation. The first phase of industrialization in the Alto Milanese, which took place in the early part of the 19th century and was characterized by a pre-capitalist production system, was later followed by a modernization of production processes . This initiated, in the second half of the century, the second phase of the industrial revolution in the Alto Milanese, which led to

5978-568: The decomposed organic matter are recycled. Depending on the conditions in which the decomposition occurs, a fraction of the organic matter does not mineralize and instead is transformed by a process called humification . Prior to modern analytical methods, early evidence led scientists to believe that humification resulted in concatenations of organic polymers resistant to the action of microorganisms, however recent research has demonstrated that microorganisms are capable of digesting humus. Humification can occur naturally in soil or artificially in

SECTION 60

#1732780879777

6076-400: The decomposition of sugars and starches from carbohydrates, which decompose easily as detritivores initially invade the dead plant organs, while the remaining cellulose and lignin decompose more slowly. Simple proteins, organic acids, starches, and sugars decompose rapidly, while crude proteins, fats, waxes, and resins remain relatively unchanged for longer periods of time. Lignin, which

6174-445: The dialect of Legnano (native name legnanés ) is spoken around Legnano . Legnano, starting in the 11th century, began to bond with Milan . The village of Legnano, in fact, represented, for those coming from the north, the gateway to the Milanese countryside and thus had an important strategic function for the city of Milan. The link between Legnano and Milan also influenced the Legnano vernacular, which began to differentiate itself from

6272-432: The different compounds will affect the composition of the humus. It is difficult to define humus precisely because it is a very complex substance which is still not fully understood. Humus is different from decomposing soil organic matter . The latter looks rough and has visible remains of the original plant or animal matter. Fully humified humus, on the contrary, has a uniformly dark, spongy, and jelly-like appearance, and

6370-410: The disappearance of vines in Legnano, the Colli di Sant'Erasmo wine, which was produced in the district of the same name, was famous; the last fields of the Colli di Sant'Erasmo in Legnano cultivated with vines were eliminated in 1987 to allow the construction, between Colli di Sant'Erasmo Street, Canazza Street and Trivulzio Street, of a parking lot to serve the Legnano Civil Hospital . Shortly after

6468-413: The economy of the Alto Milanese in the 16th century was based was agriculture. The peasants of the Alto Milanese mainly cultivated cereals ( millet and wheat ), vines and mulberry trees , which formed the basis of silkworm breeding . In particular, the history of viticulture in the Alto Milanese had its roots in the Roman imperial era . Alto Milanese was also ravaged by the plague epidemic of 1630 ,

6566-414: The establishment of real textile and mechanical factories in the modern sense of the term. The first capitalist activities to gradually emerge were the spinning mills, which grew out of the proto-industrial activities that had emerged in the first decades of the 19th century; some of them grew considerably to become the most important cotton mills in Lombardy. In 1878, the first Italian customs tariff led to

6664-417: The events organized in the Alto Milanese are the Palio di Legnano and the Busto Arsizio Film Festival. The Palio di Legnano is a traditional festival that has been held annually in Legnano since 1935 to commemorate the battle of the same name where a historical parade and a horse race among Legnano's eight historic contrade (districts) find their place, closing the event. The Busto Arsizio Film Festival

6762-416: The exception of deep horizons of podzolic soils enriched with colloidal humic substances which have been leached down the soil profile. The importance of chemically stable humus is thought by some to be the fertility it provides to soils in both a physical and chemical sense, though some agricultural experts put a greater focus on other features of it, such as its ability to suppress disease. It helps

6860-406: The fields. The process of industrialization that led to the gradual transformation of the Alto Milanese economy was accelerated by two natural disasters that threw local agriculture into crisis: cryptogamy , a disease that affected vines, and pébrine , an epidemic that damaged silkworm cocoons. For the first infection, which appeared between 1851 and 1852, the result in Lombardy was a rapid fall in

6958-416: The first part of the 19th century. In common with other nearby cities, such as Casorate Sempione and Samarate , its name comes from Latin. Founded by the Gauls and later conquered by the Romans, Gallarate was mentioned as an important vicus or village in documents dating back to the Roman conquest of what was then called Gallia Cisalpina . After the Carolingian conquest of northern-central Italy,

7056-480: The formation of large-molecular-size and persistent ‘humic substances’ in soils. Instead, soil organic matter is a continuum of progressively decomposing organic compounds.″ Humus has a characteristic black or dark brown color and is organic due to an accumulation of organic carbon. Soil scientists use the capital letters O, A, B, C, and E to identify the master soil horizons , and lowercase letters for distinctions of these horizons. Most soils have three major horizons:

7154-599: The humus in most soils has persisted for more than 100 years, rather than having been decomposed into CO 2 , and can be regarded as stable; this organic matter has been protected from decomposition by microbial or enzyme action because it is hidden (occluded) inside small aggregates of soil particles, or tightly sorbed or complexed to clays . Most humus that is not protected in this way is decomposed within 10 years and can be regarded as less stable or more labile . The mixing activity of soil-consuming invertebrates (e.g. earthworms , termites , some millipedes ) contribute to

7252-524: The main axis of which was the Olona River . Transportation along this route was therefore both by land and by water. A large part of the route of the Via Mediolanum-Verbannus , which was also used in the Middle Ages and in the following centuries, was taken up by Napoleon to build the Simplon highway. During the early Middle Ages , the Alto Milanese was divided between the counties of Seprio (with

7350-443: The more when associated with cations (e.g. calcium ), and in providing a very large surface area that can hold nutrient elements until required by plants, an ion exchange function comparable to that of clay particles. Soil carbon sequestration is a major property of the soil, also considered as an ecosystem service . Only when it becomes stable and acquires its multi-century permanence, mostly via multiple interactions with

7448-779: The most important associations in the Alto Milanese is Associazione Consortile dei Comuni dell'Alto Milanese (A.C.C.A.M.). It was founded in 1970 by the municipalities of Busto Arsizio , Gallarate , Legnano , Nerviano and Samarate to design, organize and build waste disposal plants. In 2020, it includes the municipalities of Arsago Seprio , Buscate , Busto Arsizio , Canegrate , Cardano al Campo , Castano Primo , Castellanza , Fagnano Olona , Ferno , Gallarate , Golasecca , Gorla Maggiore , Legnano , Lonate Pozzolo , Magnago , Marnate , Nerviano , Olgiate Olona , Parabiago , Pogliano Milanese , Rescaldina , Samarate , San Giorgio su Legnano , San Vittore Olona , Somma Lombardo , Vanzaghello and Vizzola Ticino . The Alto Milanese

7546-462: The neighboring Bustocco dialect. Due to the frequent contacts between the two cities, the Milanese dialect began to "contaminate" the language spoken in Legnano. Despite this trend, the Legnano dialect continued to preserve - over the centuries - a conspicuous diversity from the Milanese dialect. The shows of the Italian dialect theater company “ I Legnanesi ”' are written in Legnano dialect. One of

7644-694: The north, Lake Maggiore ( Sesto Calende and Angera ), Lake Comabbio , and Lake Monate are part of the Alto Milanese. The major rivers are the Olona and the Ticino . There are numerous streams, including the Arno, Tenore, Bozzente, Lura, Rile, and Strona. The Olona River has led to considerable urban and industrial development along its course: numerous manufacturing activities have flourished on its banks, particularly textile, mechanical, and chemical industries, which originally exploited its waters to power machinery. As

7742-452: The old Liberty style buildings, where thousands of Gallaratesi worked during the past century and a half, have been turned into new modern multi-level shopping centres and plazas. In the 19th and 20th centuries Gallarate was an important centre for the textile industry. Now it is a local hub for transport and high-tech industries. The Sistema Bibliotecario Consortile Antonio Panizzi has its main offices in Gallarate. The system operates

7840-418: The original plant material (foliage, wood, bark), in part from similar molecules that have been produced by microbes . During decomposition processes these polyphenols are modified chemically so that they are able to join up with one another to form very large molecules. Some parts of these molecules are modified in such a way that protein molecules, amino acids, and amino sugars are able to attach themselves to

7938-421: The polyphenol “base” molecule. As protein contains both nitrogen and sulfur, this attachment gives humus a moderate content of these two important plant nutrients. Radiocarbon and other dating techniques have shown that the polyphenolic base of humus (mostly lignin and black carbon ) can be very old, but the protein and carbohydrate attachments much younger, while to the light of modern concepts and methods

8036-416: The production of compost . Organic matter is humified by a combination of saprotrophic fungi, bacteria, microbes and animals such as earthworms, nematodes, protozoa, and arthropods (see Soil biology ). Plant remains, including those that animals digested and excreted, contain organic compounds: sugars, starches, proteins, carbohydrates, lignins, waxes, resins, and organic acids. Decay in the soil begins with

8134-625: The respective localities where the first excavations were carried out, which led to the discovery of these prehistoric cultures. In particular, the Canegrate culture was a protohistoric civilization that developed in the Po Valley from the Bronze Age on the territories of western Lombardy , eastern Piedmont , and Ticino . The material evidence found in Canegrate consisted of a necropolis made up of 165 tombs, within which there were metal and ceramic objects. The Canegrate finds consist of

8232-416: The second highest rate – nationally – of employees in industry in relation to inhabitants (65.2 percent), second only to Sesto San Giovanni (67.14 percent). In the early 1970s, the Alto Milanese was the protagonist of the rise and flourishing of the first instances of commercial television. Enzo Tortora and Renzo Villa had the intuition to bring to television the forms of theatrical performances typical of

8330-511: The severe economic recession that followed the conflict. Basic foodstuffs were insufficient, public transportation was failing, and roads were bad. As Italian politics also stabilized, the economic system of the Alto Milanese began to develop again, returning to the growth rate of the pre-World War II period partly due to the Marshall Plan . During Italy's strong economic growth during the economic boom , Legnano reached between 1951 and 1961

8428-461: The situation appears much more complex and unpredictable than previously thought. It seems that microbes are able to pull protein off humus molecules rather more readily than they are able to break the polyphenolic base molecule itself. As protein is removed its place may be taken by younger protein, or this younger protein may attach itself to another part of the humus molecule. The most useful functions of humus are in improving soil structure , all

8526-445: The small theaters of oratories in the area. From an economic point of view, advertising revenue was favored by the entrepreneurial and commercial fabric of the area, based on small and medium enterprises, with the first examples of large-scale distribution. Thus, Telealtomilanese and Antennatre were created, with studios in Busto Arsizio and Legnano respectively. In the region, they achieved ratings comparable to those of RAI . After

8624-424: The soil retain moisture by increasing microporosity and encourages the formation of good soil structure . The incorporation of oxygen into large organic molecular assemblages generates many active, negatively charged sites that bind to positively charged ions (cations) of plant nutrients , making them more available to the plant by way of ion exchange . Humus allows soil organisms to feed and reproduce and

8722-491: The spread of the vine disease, an infection of the silkworm, pébrine , appeared. In addition to this problem, in the latter part of the 19th century, Europe was hit by an agricultural crisis involving cereal crops: this was due to the spread on the markets of competitively priced American grains. Vast areas of the American Midwest had been earmarked for cultivation, while technological advances had drastically reduced

8820-471: The stability of humus by favouring the formation of organo-mineral complexes with clay at the inside of their guts , hence more carbon sequestration in humus forms such as mull and amphi, with well-developed mineral-organic horizons , when compared with moder where most organic matter accumulates at the soil surface. Stable humus contributes few plant-available nutrients in soil, but it helps maintain its physical structure. A very stable form of humus

8918-508: The subalpine hill belt, with a continuity of about a millennium, and this is the area that has seen the development of the two epicenters of the culture itself, which are the Sesto Calende - Golasecca - Castelletto Ticino areas and the area around Como . In a series of excavation campaigns carried out in the Alto Milanese, artifacts dating back to the settlement in the Po Valley of the Celts were discovered, which can be dated between

9016-432: The surface horizon (A), the subsoil (B), and the substratum (C). Some soils have an organic horizon (O) on the surface, but this horizon can also be buried. The master horizon (E) is used for subsurface horizons that have significantly lost minerals ( eluviation ). Bedrock, which is not soil, uses the letter R. The richness of soil horizons in humus determines their more or less dark color, generally decreasing from O to E, to

9114-470: The total number of workers, in Legnano, for example, rose from 12 percent in 1857, to 28 percent in 1887 to 42 percent in 1911: at the end of the process of transformation of the agricultural village into a modern industrial city, Legnano began to be nicknamed the "little Manchester " of Italy, a title disputed in the area with the neighboring and equally industrialized Busto Arsizio . The pace and scope of this transformation had few other comparable examples on

9212-527: The use of the term humus and derived terms such as humic substances or humification , proposing the Soil Continuum Model (SCM). However, humus can be considered as having distinct properties, mostly linked to its richness in functional groups , justifying its maintenance as a specific term. Fully formed humus is essentially a collection of very large and complex molecules formed in part from lignin and other polyphenolic molecules of

9310-576: The western Lombard dialect is classified as " Gallo-Italic ." However, it was the Roman domination , which supplanted the Celtic one, that shaped the local language spoken in the Alto Milanese, so much so that the lexicon and grammar of this dialect is of Romance derivation. It is spoken by about 30 percent of the population of the area in which it is spread. Among the local dialects, the Bustocco dialect and

9408-508: Was a need for maintenance equipment. In addition there was a need for quick repairs. As a result, the last decades of the 19th century saw the birth of the first mechanical industries in the Alto Milanese, which built and repaired textile machinery; later, more extensive production was added to the mechanical field. Industrial development led to a new agricultural crisis in the area: many farmers began to work in factories, abandoning agriculture. The ratio of people employed in industry, compared to

9506-474: Was caused by rising labor costs and competition from foreign industrial systems, to which were added the periodic crises that cyclically affect production systems and - in the 1970s - the inconvertibility of the dollar (1971), the oil crisis and the Yom Kippur War (both in 1973). At the same time, a phase of the emergence of small businesses began, which allowed the Alto Milanese to remain embedded in

9604-469: Was home to the 2006 European Cross Country Championships and the 2012 European Fencing Championships , with the former being held in San Giorgio su Legnano and the latter in Legnano . Originating in the Alto Milanese area are bruscitti , a main course made from finely chopped beef cooked long. The territory of the Alto Milanese can be geographically divided into two zones. The north-central zone

#776223