The Lombards get a bad press in most history books, which tend to treat them as the barbarians who arrived in Italy in 568 and broke what was left of Roman order. Castelseprio tells a subtler story. On a wooded spur above the Olona valley, north-west of Milan, stand the ruins of a late Roman and Lombard castrum, a fortified town that controlled the road between the plain and the Alpine lakes, and just outside its walls is the little church of Santa Maria foris portas, whose frescoes are among the most mysterious and beautiful paintings of early medieval Europe. Down by the river, the stout stone Torba tower, later part of a Benedictine nunnery, completes the group. Together they form one of the sites in the UNESCO listing of the Lombards in Italy.
The frescoes are the reason art historians argue in loud voices. Nobody agrees exactly when they were painted or by whom, and their soft, almost classical style feels centuries ahead of its supposed time. The Torba monastery is looked after by the Italian heritage trust FAI and opens to visitors, with a lovely courtyard, the tower and faded paintings of nuns on its upper floor.
The riding is a pleasant surprise for an area so close to Milan. The Olona valley is green and wooded, and the roads that climb through the hills toward Varese and the lakes are twisty, narrow and full of character, if sometimes busy with commuter traffic and lined with villages. Head north and you reach Lago di Varese and the Campo dei Fiori, whose climb toward the Sacro Monte gives fine curves and views. Weekday mornings are quieter; weekends bring cyclists and Sunday drivers.
Carnago, a couple of kilometres away, has petrol and shops, and Castiglione Olona nearby is a small Renaissance gem with its own collegiate church and frescoes by Masolino, an easy addition to a culture-heavy day. For food, look for a trattoria serving risotto or polenta with local cheeses and cured meats.
Spring and autumn are the best seasons, when the woods are fresh or golden and the light is gentle. Summer can be hot and humid in the valley. Walk among the ruins in the late afternoon, then step into the little church and stand in front of those faded faces painted by an unknown hand more than a thousand years ago.