What to See in Rho: Attractions & Sights

More places of interest

Chiesa prepositurale di San Vittore Martire

The basilica of San Vittore, the provostal church of Rho, faces the square of the same name, in the centre of town. It is dedicated to the fourth-century martyr Saint Victor the Moor and stands on the site of an older church dating back to the eighth century: a document of 1080 already mentions it, in connection with the sale of some houses in the castle to a priest of the church of San Vittore.
What to see
The old church faced the opposite way, with its entrance to the west towards today's piazza Visconti, where there was a cemetery; restored in 1596, it was small, 18 metres long and 12 wide. By the nineteenth century it was in such poor condition that it was decided to pull it down and rebuild it facing east. Today's neoclassical building was begun on 14 September 1834 to designs by the architects Besia and Aluisetti and completed on 18 October 1847; the portico is by the Milanese architect Giacomo Moraglia.
The design included two bell towers, but in 1889 the left-hand one was demolished because of stability problems, and the right-hand one was raised by Perucchetti to over 58 metres; today it has nine bells, rung according to the Ambrosian system. Inside are sixteen stained-glass windows by the Cisterna firm of Rome, painted by Giulio Cesare Giuliani, some paintings of the school of Luini and works by Bosoni, including Stations of the Cross.
Visiting
The basilica is on piazza San Vittore. Opening and service times should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
On the same square stands the Plague Cross, erected by the Capuchin Father Pietro Paolo Castelli, who in 1663 sealed the relics inside it with his own hands: moved in 1927 because of traffic, in 1998 it returned to its original spot.
Museo Storico Alfa Romeo

The Alfa Romeo Historical Museum tells the story of the marque in the area of the old Arese plant, near the former headquarters building: the entrance is in the municipality of Arese, but the exhibition space lies in the territory of Rho. Wanted by Giuseppe Luraghi, it opened on 18 December 1976 and was designed, together with the headquarters, by the architects Vito and Gustavo Latis. Car production ended here in 2002 and engine production in 2005.
What to see
The museum covers about 4800 square metres on six floors, divided into themed areas. Alfa Romeo owns 256 cars and 150 historic engines and keeps at least one example of every car it has built: 69 are on show today, presented together with the historical events in which they took part, among production models, racing cars, prototypes and concept cars, and many are one-offs. 60% of the cars in the collection still run. Beside the cars are period photos and advertising posters collected by the company's Historical Documentation Centre, housed in the same building.
Closed at the beginning of 2011, the museum reopened on 30 June 2015 after modernisation work, a few days after the unveiling of the new Giulia. In June 2020 the «Alfa in divisa» section was added, devoted to the cars used by the Italian police forces. Today the museum is part of the historical heritage looked after by the Stellantis group.
Visiting
The entrance is on the Arese side, on viale Alfa Romeo. Opening hours and tickets should be checked on the museum's official website.
Our editors' tip
Alfa Romeo did not only build cars: over its history its works also turned out commercial vehicles, locomotives, tractors, buses, trolleybuses, marine engines and aircraft engines.
Santuario dell'Addolorata

The sanctuary of the Addolorata in Rho, on corso Europa, is one of the most important Marian shrines in Lombardy and has been a minor basilica since 1923. In 1522 a small chapel dedicated to the Madonna della Neve was built here, with a painting of the Pietà by an unknown artist. According to the chronicles, on 24 April 1583 that image wept tears of blood; after an investigation Archbishop Carlo Borromeo, the future Saint Charles, entrusted the architect Pellegrino Tibaldi with designing a sanctuary, and the first stone was laid on 6 March 1584.
What to see
Building took about three centuries. The sanctuary, already open for worship in 1586, has a Latin-cross plan, with a single nave 74 metres long and four chapels on each side, and a transept of 43 metres. The dome, 54 metres high, was built between 1752 and 1764 to a design by Carlo Giuseppe Merlo; the bell tower, 75 metres high and finished in 1759, is the tallest structure in Rho. The neoclassical façade, designed by Leopold Pollack after the Napoleonic period, has two large statues of prophets and reliefs by Grazioso Rusca. The church was consecrated on 4 April 1755 to the Queen of Martyrs.
The side chapels were decorated thanks to the wealthiest local families, such as the Simonetta, Crivelli, Visconti and Turri. The chapel of San Giuseppe has paintings by Camillo Procaccini and his school, from 1603; that of San Giorgio has frescoes by Morazzone, from 1614 and 1615, and an altarpiece by Giovanni Ambrogio Figino; that of San Carlo was decorated by Andrea Lanzani in 1684. The fresco of the Pietà has stood on the high altar since 1586.
Visiting
The sanctuary is run by the Oblate Fathers. Opening and service times should be checked with the sanctuary.
Our editors' tip
The original chapel, with a copy of the miraculous painting, is built into the base of the apse and can still be visited by entering from the corso Europa side, at the corner with via Lainate.