Dresano is a comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

(municipality) in the Province of Milan

Province of Milan

The Province of Milan : /) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Milan. The provincial territory is highly urbanized, resulting in the third highest population density among the Italian provinces with more than 2,000 inhabitants/km2, just behind the provinces of...

 in the Italian region Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

, located about 20 km southeast of Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

. As of 31 October 2010, it had a population of 2,987 and an area of 3.5 km². It is the smallest municipality in Italy by surface.

Dresano borders the following municipalities: Mediglia

Mediglia

Mediglia is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 15 km southeast of Milan.-External links:*...

, Tribiano

Tribiano

Tribiano is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 20 km southeast of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,512 and an area of 7.0 km²....

, Mulazzano

Mulazzano

Mulazzano is a comune in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 45 km southeast of Milan and about 20 km southeast of Lodi...

, Colturano

Colturano

Colturano is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 15 km southeast of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,004 and an area of 4.2 km²....

, Vizzolo Predabissi

Vizzolo Predabissi

Vizzolo Predabissi is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 20 km southeast of Milan...

, Casalmaiocco

Casalmaiocco

Casalmaiocco is a comune in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 25 km southeast of Milan and about 15 km north of Lodi...

.

Etymology

The name Dresano is due to the presence, in these swampy areas, of three inlets, three "sinuses", from which the name evolved over the centuries: Tresseno --> Tressano --> Tresano --> Dresano. The three inlets appear in the coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 too, surmounted by three poplar trees

Poplar

Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....

, the poplar being one of the most typical local trees.

Local history

.
The old village hosts the remains of one of its most ancient buildings: on the East side of Piazza Manzoni the wall of an establishment with a massive wooden double door is found, which was part of the convent of the benedictines

Order of Saint Benedict

The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...

, who performed the hard task of draining

Drainage

Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...

 and cultivating the swampy territories around. In this area malaria (swamp fever)

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

 took its toll.

Climate

The climate in Dresano is characterised by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild and rainy winters. Occasionally, heavy snowfall occurs; in 1995 a particularly heavy snowfall blocked the roads, paralising traffic and forcing schools to close for several days.

The end of August-early September is characterised by violent thunderstorms and heavy sleet which signal the end of summer.

Topography

The village is divided into four smaller areas: the old village (Dresano vecchio), Madonnina (built in the sixties), Villaggio ambrosiano (erected in the seventies) and Villaggio Helios (begun in the nineties).

The old village shows one of the oldest farms in the area, Cascina Belpensiero, which displays a secular tree in the middle of the farmyard

Barnyard

A barnyard or farmyard is a yard adjoined to a barn . As a combination of architecture and landscape design, the barnyard is less common now than in former times, especially since the tractor and truck have replaced the horse and wagon.A barnyard of the 19th century was fenced-in an area of or...

. This dairy farm is already mentioned in written historical sources dating back to 1500, and it is still surrounded by fields, 1 km from the village.

Every year, in May, the dairy farm holds the traditional "Quater Pass per un Vitel", an amatorial footrace, organised by the local sports group Gruppo Sportivo Marciatori San Giorgio (San Giorgio being the local patron saint). The prize for such race is a live calf

Calf

Calves are the young of domestic cattle. Calves are reared to become adult cattle, or are slaughtered for their meat, called veal.-Terminology:...

. There are three different options for the race: 6 km, 12 km, and 21 km.

Schools

The village has schools covering the compulsory schooling cycle:

• 2 nursery schools: one municipality-run (in the Villaggio ambrosiano) and one parish-run (in the old village)
• a primary school ('scuola elementare', 6–11 years)(in the Villaggio ambrosiano)
• a middle school ('scuola media', 11–14 years)(in the Villaggio ambrosiano)

Free time

Although small, Dresano has a variety of free time associations which, by their effort and enthusiasm, liven up village life, preventing Dresano from becoming a mere satellite of Milan. They are:

• Gruppo sportivo marciatori San Giorgio (walkers' group)
• Auser (providing assistance to the elderly and the disabled)
• Dresano Calcio (soccer team)
• Dresano Basket (basketball team)

Events

• Carnevale dresanese (carnival): February
• Dresano fiorita (flower show): 2nd Sunday of April
• "Quater pass per un vitel": 1st Sunday of June (footrace)
• Marcia serale Belpensiero (footrace): June (non-competitive footrace by night)
• Festa dell'uva (grapevine fair): 2nd Sunday of September

The gym and the municipal library, managed by volunteers, are located in the school complex of the Villaggio ambrosiano.

Ecology

Dresano owns a water purification plant. The water purifier

Water purification

Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...

 can be found along the Addetta floodway, close to Balbiano.

Fields in Dresano territory are intensely farmed. The most popular cultivations are:

• wheat
• barley
  Barley
  Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
  
  
• fodder maize
• oilseed rape

Biodiversity

Dresano, a farmland tradition town, has shown in the last few years an increased level of biodiversity

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

, thanks to various animal and plant species, that live mainly along waterways.

Wild animals

Local noticeable wild animal species, especially on the Addetta floodway banks, include:

BIRDS

• grey heron
  Grey Heron
  The Grey Heron , is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions...
  
  
• pheasant
  Pheasant
  Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...
  
  
• finch (fringilla coelebs)
  Finch
  The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
  
  
• moorhen
  Moorhen
  Moorhens, sometimes called marsh hens, are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Gallinula....
  
  
• little egret
  Little Egret
  The Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....
  
  
• mallard (anas platyrhynchos)
  Mallard
  The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
  
  
• kingfisher
  Kingfisher
  Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
  
  
• blackbird
• green woodpecker (Picus viridis
  Green Woodpecker
  The European Green Woodpecker is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. There are four subspecies and it occurs in most parts of Europe and in western Asia...
  
  
• thrush
  Thrush (bird)
  The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...
  
   (turdus philomelos)
  Song Thrush
  The Song Thrush is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It is also known in English dialects as throstle or mavis. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies...
  
  
• nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)
  Nightingale
  The Nightingale , also known as Rufous and Common Nightingale, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
  
  

MAMMALS

• european rabbit
  European Rabbit
  The European Rabbit or Common Rabbit is a species of rabbit native to south west Europe and north west Africa . It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity...
  
  
• hare (lepus europaeus)
• coypu (nutria)
• bat
  Bat
  Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
  
  : the bat is a wonderful living and natural insecticide, being a voracious mosquito
  Mosquito
  Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
  
   hunter
• frog
• hedgehog (erinaceus europaeus)
• fox

INSECTS

• bumble bee: an excellent gauge for environmental pollution level
• dragonfly
  Dragonfly
  A dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
  
  
• glow-worm
  Luciola
  Luciola is a genus of "flashing" fireflies , especially well-known from Japan. They are often called "Japanese fireflies", but their members range farther into Asia and reach southern Europe and Africa...
  
  

FISHES

• barbel
• mediterranean barbel (dog barbel, southern barbel)
• crucian
  Crucian
  The term Crucian may mean:* A person from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The term is also spelled Cruzan in the Virgin Islands. As in "Cruzan Rum" etc....
  
  
• carp
  Carp
  Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
  
  
• chub
  Chub
  The European chub , sometimes called the round chub, fat chub, chevin, pollard or simply "the" chub, is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae...
  
  
• pumpkinseed (common sunfish)
  Pumpkinseed
  The pumpkinseed sunfish is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family of order Perciformes. It is also referred to as "pond perch", "common sunfish", "punkys", and "sunny".-Range and distribution:...
  
  
• walking catfish
  Catfish
  Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
  
  
• redfin perch
• scardinius erythrophtalmus
  Scardinius
  Scardinius is a genus of ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for particular species, particularly the Common Rudd...
  
  
• tench
  Tench
  The tench or doctor fish is a freshwater and brackish water fish of the cyprinid family found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also found in Lake Baikal...
  
  

AMPHIBIANS

• green lizard
  Western Green Lizard
  The Western Green Lizard is a member of the Lacertidae family.It is found in Andorra, Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, in Jersey in the British Isles, and the United States....
  
  
• frog
• toad
  Toad
  A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin , short legs, and snoat-like parotoid glands...
  
  

CRUSTACEANS

• river mussel (anodonta cygnea)
  Swollen river mussel
  The swollen river mussel, scientific name Unio tumidus, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.-Distribution:Its native distribution is European.*Croatia...
  
  
• a black and red huge crayfish
  Crayfish
  Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...
  
  , not yet identified

Wild vegetation

• humulus lupulus
  Humulus lupulus
  Humulus lupulus is a species of Humulus in the Cannabaceae family.Common hop is a dioecious, perennial herbaceous climbing plant which sends up new shoots in early spring and dies back to the cold-hardy rhizome in autumn...
  
  , also called wild asparagus, but it is actually a species of the hop
  Hops
  Hops are the female flower clusters , of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine...
  
   plant): it can be added to soups, omelettes, salads, rice, or boiled and dressed with olive oil and lemon. Gather the apex throws (only the last four inches) in March–April. It is purifying, refreshing, and favors kidney drainage.
• evergreen hawthorn
  Common Hawthorn
  Crataegus monogyna, known as common hawthorn or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. It has been introduced in many other parts of the world where it is an invasive weed...
  
  
• roman chamomile
• horsetail
  Horsetail
  Equisetum is the only living genus in the Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.Equisetum is a "living fossil", as it is the only living genus of the entire class Equisetopsida, which for over one hundred million years was much more diverse and...
  
  
• fig (ficus)
  Ficus
  Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
  
  
• black mulberry
  Black Mulberry
  Morus nigra, the Black mulberry, is a species of mulberry. It is native to southwestern Asia, where it has been cultivated for so long that its precise natural range is unknown.-Description:...
  
  
• hibiscus (scarlet rose-mallow)
  Hibiscus
  Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
  
  
• white horse-chestnut tree
  Aesculus
  The genus Aesculus comprises 13-19 species of woody trees and shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere, with 6 species native to North America and 7-13 species native to Eurasia; there are also several hybrids. Species are deciduous or evergreen...
  
  
• peppermint (brandy mint)
  Peppermint
  Peppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between the watermint and spearmint . The plant, indigenous to Europe, is now widespread in cultivation throughout all regions of the world...
  
  
• walnut
  Walnut
  Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
  
  
• hazel
  Hazel
  The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
  
  
• onice: women's clogs were once made with its wood, since it doesn't warm feet too much
• plane tree
• white poplar
• black poplar
• aspen
  Populus tremula
  Populus tremula, commonly called aspen, common aspen, Eurasian aspen, European aspen, trembling poplar, or quaking aspen, is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of Europe and Asia, from the British Isles east to Kamchatka, north to inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and...
  
  
• wild plum tree
  Prunus
  Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes the plums, cherries, peaches, apricots and almonds. There are around 430 species spread throughout the northern temperate regions of the globe. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for fruit and ornament.-Botany:Members of the genus...
  
  
• black locust (false acacia)
  Black locust
  Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known as the Black Locust, is a tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, but has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is...
  
  
• Blackberry bush (Blackberry bramble)
• elder
• grapevine
  Grapevine
  Grapevine is the common name for plants of the genus Vitis. Other meanings include:*Grapevine , a term often used to describe a form of communication by means of gossip or rumor, as in "heard it through the grapevine"...
  
  

External links

• www.melegnano.net/dresano/index.html