Built in 1432 by Vitaliano Borromeo and still owned by the same aristocratic Milanese family, it was probably created out of the fortification of a pre-existing rural building. It is still in excellent condition.
The moat that surrounds the turreted building and the ancient hamlet create a very unusual setting right at the gates of the city.
The Borromeo Castle has a rectangular ground plan, protruding tower in the centre of the main façade, and four corner towers. It was created over the years during a number of construction phases. The four corner towers were probably as high as the main one but were 'decapitated' by the occupying Spanish to make them inoffensive.
To turn it into a country residence, Federico Borromeo and his brother Renato (husband of Ersilia Farnese), added a chapel inside the courtyard during the 17th century and made new windows in the external facades, so changing the original fortified appearance of the complex.
Bought back by the Borromeo family in 1926 after it had been sold to the Besostri family in 1870, the castle has undergone a series of restoration projects under the guidance of Gian Carlo Borromeo and his son Gian Vico who have restored the building to its former splendour.
Milan