MONZA (locally Monscia), a city of Italy in the province of Milan, at the branching of the railway for Lecco and Como, lies on the Lambro, a tributary of the Po, mainly on the right bank, in a healthy and attractive situation. Of the mediaeval fortifications little remains save the Porta d’Agrate. The cathedral of St John Baptist is the principal object of interest: Theodelinda’s basilica was enlarged at the close of the 13th century by throwing the atrium into the main building, and the present marble façade was erected about the middle of the 14th by Matteo da Campione. On the left-hand side of the front rises an incongruous brick-built tower, 278 feet high, erected by Peregrini. Within the church are the iron crown of Lombardy (removed by Austria in 1859, and since restored) and the relics of Theodelinda, comprising her crown, fan and comb of gold, and the golden hen and seven chickens, representing Lombardy and her seven provinces. Next to the cathedral in artistic importance come the church of Santa Maria in Istrada, and the broletto or old palace of the commune, usually styled the Arengario: the former (founded in 1357) has a rich Bramantesque façade, reckoned one of the best pieces of terra-cotta work in Lombardy, and the latter is raised on a system of pointed arches, and has a tall square tower terminating in machicolations surrounding a sharp central cone. San Michele was the scene of the coronation of Conrad III. in 1128, and San Gerardo (formerly Sant’ Ambrogio) is named after the patron saint of Monza, Gerardo de’ Tintori, who founded the first k>cal hospital in 1174. The royal palace of Monza (1777), with its extensive gardens and parks, lies not far from the town on the banks of the Lambro. Cotton goods and felt hats are the staple products of ...