Bonacina

Bonacina is a small district that lies in the so-called “Valle dei Merli”, a narrow basin crossed by the river Caldone. The gurgling of its calm waters is accompanied by the warbling of blackbirds, especially fervent on spring dawns, which build their nests in large numbers in this valley. 

The banks of the Caldone, vital for the agricultural activities that have always been a feature of Bonacina, feature in a dramatic page of our history. During the First World War, there was a prison camp in precisely this location in front of the little church of Sant’Egidio, where various Austro-Hungarian soldiers were held. The episode is also evidence of the great humanity of the inhabitants of Bonacina: despite suffering from the same privations due to the war, they displayed great solidarity with the prisoners. The origin of the name: the place name Bonacina appears to be closely linked to the surname Bolis, which belonged to a family that arrived in the district during the Venetian occupations of Acquate in the fifteenth century.
District: Sant’Egidio.
Inhabitants’ nickname: “Merli”, that is, blackbirds..
Not to be missed: A walk through the district along the banks of the river Caldone, passing by the small rural church of Sant’Egidio.