Cardano al Campo: heathland, pioneers of flight and the gateway to Malpensa
Most people who pass through Cardano al Campo never notice it: the town of almost fifteen thousand people in the Varese lowlands sits right beside Milan Malpensa airport, whose runways spread partly over its territory. Yet this corner of Lombardy has a special place in the story of flight.
Where Italian aviation took off
The wide, sterile heathland between Cardano and the Ticino, useless for farming, proved perfect for the pioneers of the air: in 1909 the Caproni brothers set up their first flying field by the old Cascina Malpensa farm, and flying schools and aircraft works followed, the distant ancestors of today's intercontinental airport. The town, granted the honorary title of city in 2012, has grown with the airport, living from services, hotels and industry.
The purple brughiera
Beyond the runways survives one of the finest stretches of brughiera, or heather moor, in northern Italy, which turns purple in September; it lies within the Ticino valley park, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, and woods threaded with cycling and walking trails still cover much of the commune.
Where it is
Cardano al Campo adjoins Malpensa airport, three kilometres from Gallarate and about thirty-five kilometres north-west of Milan, with fast links to the city and the Varese lakes.