Located between Milan and Varese, Monastero di Torba is a monumental Longobard complex, today part of an archaeology park that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, immersed in nature and centered around an imposing tower with frescoed interiors. Open from March to December, it’s a family destination with an interesting focus on archeology and nature. You can complete your visit with lunch in the annexed restaurant. It offers local and organic food as well as picnic baskets.
From February 14th to September 30th from Wednesday to Sunday: 10am-6pm
Mondays and Tuesdays closed, special openings for schools and groups upon reservation and during closing times.
In order to book and to verify special openings and closures, please click here.
Entry ticket
Guided tours
During events the price may be subject to change.
FAIr Play Family € 1 on top of the cost of the ticket.
Run until you lose your breath, discover secret passageways, find the perfect place for a somersault, listen to the sounds of nature: there are a total of 60 activities on offer through the “FAIr Play Family” project, which invites children aged 5-12 to discover the interior and exterior of the property in an original, creative way, stimulating their imagination and curiosity. It is a playful, unconstrained approach that is also respectful to both art and nature, with a view to ensuring that the visitor experience is educational for the younger generation, who after all will be the future “custodians of Italy’s beauty”.
By car
A8 Milan-Varese Motorway (“Autostrada dei Laghi A8 Milano-Varese”): take the Solbiate Arno exit, then follow the signs for Castelseprio and Torba.
By train
Take a regional Trenord train on the Laveno–Varese–Saronno–Milan line, heading towards Tradate.
From the station, continue by taking the CTPI bus on line V135 – Varese–Gornate Olona–Tradate, and get off at the stop “Gornate Ol. - Torba (via Battisti, near Marconi)” or take the CTPI bus on line N27 – Varese–Carnago–Castelseprio (with branches), and get off at the stop “Gornate Olona - via Battisti (near Marconi/Torba).”
The site is then a 500-meter walk.
For train schedules, visit the Trenord website
For bus schedules, visit the CTPI website
Parking
Internal parking for cars near the monastery.
Guided tours
FAI members: € 7
Adults: € 15
Residents of the Gornate Olona and Castelseprio local council areas: € 7
Children aged 0-5: free entry
Reduced (aged 6-18): € 11
Students aged under 25: € 11
People with disabilities: € 7
Family (2 adults + 2 or more children 6-18 y.o.): € 40
During events the price may be subject to change.
Membership Agreement (Museums of Lombardy):
Do you have a Musei Lombardia Membership Card?
Contact us to find out about the discounts reserved for you.
For information and bookings, please click here.
School visits
School groups and school children are welcome. Prior booking essential.
Purchases from the bookshop make a tangible contribution to supporting the work of FAI. Don’t miss to taste the local production of honey.
Visitors with disabilities and, when applicable, their caregiver have free access, in accordance with M.D. 507/97 updated to M.D. 13/2019 and L.104/92.
A reduced ticket is required in case of guided tours, events and other additional services.
Guide dogs and therapy dogs with a training certificate for assistance to persons with disabilities are allowed, always on a leash, both in the external areas and inside the Monastery.
For persons with reduced mobility: difficult access to the property due to its historic nature.
The first and second floors of the tower are accessible only by stairs.
The external passages (access road to the church and path along the walls) have a gravel bottom.
The lawn is accessible to all.
The restaurant follows the opening days and hours of the monastery.
Open on Saturday evenings by reservation only.
For reservations: +39 348 8687196.
Book your picnic basket:
+39 348 8687196 | anticatorre.torba@gmail.com
(Reservations accepted up to the day before your visit)
Comfortable shoes are recommended.
Dogs are always welcome in the Park, but must be kept on a leash at all times To ensure the protection and preservation of the interiors of Monastero di Torba and its collections, only guide dogs and assistance dogs with certificates for accompanying people with disabilities are allowed inside.
Possibility to rent an electric bike on site.
For information and reservations: faitorba@fondoambiente.it