Origins Etymology The origin of the name
Moncucco is discordant. For some, it is a
French loan word mon cucco, meaning "my
cuckoo"; others hold, including
Cesare Cantù, it is a term derived from the name of various countries and French farmhouses called
Moncuc.
Ancient period and Middle Ages The oldest evidence of the existence of Moncucco derives from two Roman inscriptions in the town of Malnido, (part of Moncucco between 1769 and 1871). This confirms the Roman origin of the ancient town (as well as Brugherio). being used as a country residence. In 1000 AD this castle was located near an ancient chariot road located in a reclaimed area. With the imperial crisis following the
Investiture Controversy, between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the young town of
Monza Moncucco broke away, together with
San Damiano and
Cassina Baraggia, which were established as autonomous municipalities by their own right. Monza was the capital of the territory belonging to
Martesana, which included the entire territory of Brugherio, following a grant in 1158 by
Frederick Barbarossa who encouraged the town's freedom from Milan, the city of the Emperor's enemy. The descriptions about Moncucco thereafter are sporadic: for instance, it is known that in 1339 an exceptional flood of the
Lambro river hit some areas of Brugherio including Malnido and Moglia, coming up to Moncucco. in Moncucco, perhaps due to a tax increase, since
fuochi was the basis of the taxation system. In 1559, following the
Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, the
State of Milan finally passed to the
Habsburgs of Spain who already had ruled indirectly for almost thirty years. Moncucco was part of the
Court of Monza, which, although geographically situated in the Peasantry of Martesana, in 1559 came under the jurisdiction of the magistrate of Milan for matters of civil and criminal problems, for public order and for the distribution of fodder. to Giambattista Durini and his brothers. The Durini kept the
feud of Monza until 1781, when they gave up ownership because it was too expensive to maintain. and all the crops present therein.
Maria Theresa, daughter of Charles VI, established a new council of the Census not only to complete her father's previous one, but also to better implement taxes and administrative reforms, leading to the formation of the decision-making body of Moncucco,
Convocato degli estimati. This consisted of landowners, three of which held the power of decision. Before 1755, the year of reform, the General Assembly was also made up of householders, not only landowners. and Bettolino Freddo. In the middle of the eighteenth century the population of all these small towns was 236 people, 117 of which resided in Moncucco. The small number was due to the area's agricultural character: agriculture in fact always remained the main activity of Moncucco, which had neither business nor merchants
mills. The old law of 1470, set by Galeazzo Sforza, established a maximum number of mulberry trees for every one hundred perches:
sericulture and
silk production were still flourishing during the Austrian government. the census was conducted between the end of Austrian domination and the formation of Italy as a unified state. Lombardy, in 1859, with the
armistice of Villafranca, was ceded by Austria to the
Kingdom of Sardinia, after the
War of Independence.
From municipality to hamlet The decision for the unification of Brugherio's territory was based on administrative and financial reasons, such as tax differences and territorial fragmentation. Moncucco, which was split in 1856, was described by the Buildings Census as "divided in small groups of farms...without a real country". Initially with the Royal Decree signed by
Vittorio Emanuele II on December 8, 1866, the Municipality of Brugherio and States was constituted, including part of the territory belonging to Monza, the whole center, Baraggia and Sant'Ambrogio. Subsequently, the Edict of March 30, 1871 of the Census Board, established the incorporation of Moncucco (excluding Malnido) and San Damiano, which had remained autonomous until then. On March 30 that same year, with Decree number 84912, Sant'Alessandro was removed from the town and joined with Moncucco, together with Occhiate's territory; Malnido Bettolino Freddo went under the municipality of Cologno Monzese.
The twentieth century: industrialization Throughout the late nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century, Brugherio (and with it the hamlet of Moncucco) remained tied to agriculture, while in Milan
industrialization rapidly progressed. Initially landowners who administered the City forbade their employees to work in the nascent factories of Milan, Monza and
Sesto San Giovanni; but after 1909, in part due to
socialist-fomented strikes, the family decided some employees could be sent to the factories, removing them from the fields. With the
First World War,
spinning mills increased in number, which at the end of the war were transformed into
woolen mills. In the twenties, Ermenegildo Magnaghi worked creating devices with aviation applications. During the war he presented 44 patents, for which he received an honorary degree from
Politecnico di Milano. His company, Magnaghi Ermenegildo & C. in Milan, employed 2000 workers. When they began the bombing of Milan, between 1942 and 1943, the company's main factory was moved to Brugherio, after the purchase of
Villa Sormani by the Stanzani lords. With the advent of
CNC machines in the mid-sixties, Magnaghi Brugherio went into crisis, while in Milan the industry began to flourish. In 1985, Brugherio produced only device components. Magnaghi Milan currently exports its products all over the world and is the first Italian manufacturer of
hydraulic systems. ==Historical places==