The Abbey is cited for the first time in 1154 in a document by Pope Anastasius IV (Pope from 1153 to 1154) in which its dependence on the Abbey of Fruttuaria is confirmed.
It was built on the site of an early medieval settlement, probably a Longobard (or even older) tower, as is also revealed by its being dedicated to San Michele. The period of the monastery's greatest wealth lasted until the middle of the XV century when in following the more general decline of the Benedictine Order it fell prey to ineluctable decadence. Its patrimony continued to wither until 1519 when the monastery and its competency were ceded to the Lateran canons of Santa Maria della Passione of Milan. Under the direction of the Laterans the complex of Voltorre was transformed into an agricultural undertaking which it continued to be until its sale in 1797. From this date on the complex forfeited its monastic functions and was dismembered in various lots. The buildings were transformed into homes, farmhouses and deposits for agricultural tools and equipment.
It was only during the 1960's - and more definitively during the 1970's - that the cloister was restored thanks to the resolute intervention on the part of the Province of Varese.
