The Badia di Dulzago (Dulzago abbey) is a site of great interest, and a symbol of rural architecture that should be protected and promoted. It was founded in the early XII century by the canons of Sant’Agostino rule on the remains of an ancient Roman settlement. It was built initially as a place of worship and agriculture. During the XVI century, the Badia (abbey) lost its canonical community and was turned into a rich and productive farm. The coenoby was converted into lodging for the farmers and the cloister into lodging for the administrators. The rural community was perfectly self-sufficient: there was a bakery, they produced their own milk and flour, the food was preserved in the underground ice-house and there was even a primary school. During the French occupation, however, the situation rapidly worsened: the land and the buildings were confiscated and sold. Now this old centre survives only thanks to the few families that still live and work there. The Chiesa di San Giulio (St Julius Church) was restored and the mill is still used, but the entire complex is in rather bad condition. The XV and XVI century’s palaces, the stables and the cloister are in a state of disrepair. It is a curious paradox that an ancient Roman sarcophagus, on which the columns that support the colonnade lean against, is being used as a cattle trough.
