Set deep in the countryside north of Varese by the Castelseprio Archaeological Park, the site of Torba Abbey is home to more than a millennium of history. It started out as a military outpost towards the end of the Roman Empire and later fell into the hands of the Goths and then the Longobards (with defensive walls and towers dating back to the fifth and sixth centuries). Later Torba became a peaceful place of prayer and work for Benedictine nuns which led to the church and abbey being built in the thirteenth century.

Volandia has a fantastic exhibition that takes visitors on a journey through the history of international aviation, with a special focus on some of the legendary companies from the Varese area, Lombardy and Italian industry. The exhibition is divided into five areas: forms of flying, fixed-wing aircrafts, rotary-wing aircraft, model aeroplanes and convertiplanes.