VICUS MERCATI

Vimercate, a town situated in the industrious and dynamic Brianza, has over two thousand years of history. The oldest archaeological finds date back to Roman times. There still exist important traces from the medieval period, such as the Church of Santo Stefano, the Bridge of San Rocco (the only example of aLombard medieval fortified bridge), and the Hunting Lodge Borromeo. From the sixteenth century, the region of Vimercate became the chosen place in which to take up residence and nobles started to build their palaces and villas, such as the grandiose Villa Gallarati Scotti, Trotti Palace, and the neoclassical Villa Sottocasa, now the seat of MUST, the museum of the territory. After the intense social, cultural and urban transformations of the twentieth century, Vimercate has been able to preserve and enhance a historic and artistic heritage of high value, developing new cultural and tourist potential and maintaining a key role for the surrounding area. Vimercate today has a population of about 26,500 inhabitants.