Meda's history is linked to the history of its convent and of its foundation. From the latter's location on a mound (Latin: meta) stems the town's name.
According to legend, the Saints Aimo and Vermund, counts of Turbigo, were attacked by two wild boars while hunting. To save their lives, they swore to God that, if saved, they would build a convent right there. The convent was built around 780 near an old little church dedicated to St. Vittore. In order to be free from the control of the new priorate, the people of Meda built another church dedicated to St. Mary and St. Sebastian. The quarrels between the inhabitants and the convent ended on 10 December 1252, when the Prioress Maria da Besozzo gave up all her political, administrative and economic power on the village.
The Meda territory, on the border with the town of Seveso, was the location of the ICMESA factory, which became known in 1976 for the catastrophical release of a dioxin cloud, which affected many towns of the Brianza. This event is known as the “Seveso disaster” (Disastro di Seveso).
Meda received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on 4 September 1998.[citation needed]
Main sights
Church of San Vittore (1520), housing a series of frescoes by Bernardino Luini and his school.
Villa Antona Traversi, a transformation of a medieval convent of Santa Vittoria by the Neoclassical architect Leopoldo Pollack. The monastery had been suppressed in 1798 by the Napoleonic government. The church is frescoed by followers of Bernardo Luini.
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