Exactly what time does your flight leave?
Malpensa is an hour outside of Milan
You’ll want to be at the airport 3 hours preflight
I would not stay any further away than Milan itself- at least you can take the Malpensa Express as opposed to an expensive private driver
Can you adjust itinerary so your “ other” destination comes first with all your Milan nights at end of trip?
Of course you can look at a map and I assume you have done that
You asked for suggestions for nearby towns worth visiting in general