Castelseprio is a comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

(municipality) in the Province of Varese

Province of Varese

The Province of Varese is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese but its largest city is Busto Arsizio....

 in the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 region Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

, located about 35 km northwest of Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 and about 11 km south of Varese

Varese

Varese is a town and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km north of Milan.It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or urban part of the city is called Varesotto.- Geography :...

, bordering the municipalities of Cairate

Cairate

Cairate is a comune in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 35 km northwest of Milan and about 15 km south of Varese....

, Carnago

Carnago

Carnago is a comune in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 40 km northwest of Milan and about 11 km south of Varese. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,831 and an area of 6.2 km²....

, Gornate-Olona

Gornate-Olona

Gornate Olona is a comune in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 40 km northwest of Milan and about 10 km southeast of Varese...

 and Lonate Ceppino

Lonate Ceppino

Lonate Ceppino is a comune in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 35 km northwest of Milan and about 13 km south of Varese....

.

The main centre, formerly known as Vico Seprio (a name still in informal local use) is located near the historically significant ruins of the ancient and medieval city of Castelseprio

Castelseprio

Castelseprio was the site of a Roman fort in antiquity, and a significant Lombard town in the early Middle Ages, before being destroyed and abandoned in 1287. It is today preserved as an archaeological park in the modern comune of Castelseprio, near the modern village of the same name...

, which are today in an archaeological zone open to the public at the normal hours. The site is most famous for the Byzantinesque fresco

Fresco

Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...

s in the small Church of Santa Maria foris portas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011.

The modern village of Castelseprio has a population of 1,276 and area of 3.9 km².