Vimercate is a city and comune in the province of Monza and Brianza, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Milan and 10 kilometres (6 mi) from Monza.

The city was founded by the Romans on the banks of the river Molgora.

A hostel at the site was founded in 1052, just outside the walls of medieval Vimercate, offering refuge and assistance to travellers and pilgrims. In the first half of the 13th century Franciscan friars from the nearby monastery in Oreno, traditionally believed to have been visited by St Francis himself, and founded the new Franciscan monastery under the "Custody of Monza". During the 13th century it increased in importance and was occupied by Lectors and Maestri.

In one of the frescoes in the convent is an ornament (circa 1311) showing the coats of arms of the Visconti and Della Torre families. The date is the time when a truce between the two families was signed on Epiphany of that year. The truce between the two Milanese families was guaranteed by Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1456 Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, provided a special grant with an annual offering of fifty florins, founding the Cappellania di San Francesco (Chapter of the Chapel of Saint Francis) in the church.

In 1798 the monastery, suppressed by the Cisalpine Republic, was sold in 1799 by the Feudal Mayor of Vimercate, Dr Giuseppe Banfi. He conceded the use of the monastery to the six remaining friars, supporting them for life. Afterwards he transformed the monastery into a residence. Since then the Banfi family has owned the site.

In different areas of the monastery there are some fragments of frescos, which, even if quite small, make it possible to distinguish two subsequent attempts at decorating the church during the first half of the fourteenth century, evidence of the prestige of the monastery in that period.

The area of Oreno has maintained its medieval look with an 11th-century monastery, Saint Michael's Church and the stately homes Villa Gallarati-Scotti and Villa Borromeo.

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