The Visconti Castle, or Castello Visconteo, is a castle located in the town of

Cusago Cusago ( ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about west of Milan. Cusago borders the following municipalities: Milan, Cornaredo, Settimo Milanese, Bareggio, Cisliano Cislian ...

near

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

. It was built in the 14th century by

Bernabò Visconti Bernabò or Barnabò Visconti (1323 – 19 December 1385) was an Italian soldier and statesman who was Lord of Milan. Along with his brothers Matteo and Galeazzo II, he inherited the lordship of Milan from his uncle Giovanni. Later in 1355, he ...

and used as a hunting lodge by him and other Visconti family members. The castle underwent significant changes in the Renaissance period; today, it is in neglected conditions.

History

Bernabò Visconti was lord of Milan between 1354 and 1385. He ordered the construction of the castle of Cusago in 1370. It had a quadrilateral layout, and a single tower over the entrance, features conserved until today. It was created as a country residence and connected to a hunting park. The most extended side measured 96 meters. The court of Bernabò Visconti frequently attended the castle. After the dethronement of Bernabò, the building passed to his nephew Gian Galeazzo, the first duke of Milan. Between 1425 and 1440, Duke

Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447) was the duke of Duchy of Milan, Milan from 1412 to 1447. Reports stated that he was "paranoid", but "shrewd as a ruler." He went to war in the 1420s with Romagna, Republic of Florenc ...

took great care of the castle and the surrounding park. His mistress

Agnese del Maino Agnese del Maino (c. 1411 – 13 December 1465) was a Milanese noblewoman and the mistress of Filippo Maria Visconti, the last legitimate duke of Milan of the Visconti of Milan, Visconti dynasty. Agnese was the mother of Duchess Bianca Maria Visc ...

occasionally lived there. In 1438 a little canal (the ''naviglietto'') was excavated to connect the castle to the nearby

Naviglio Grande The Naviglio Grande is a canal in Lombardy, northern Italy, connecting the Ticino river near Tornavento ( south of Sesto Calende) to the Porta Ticinese dock, also known as the ''Darsena'', in Milan. It drops over . It varies in width from from ...

. After the period of the Ambrosian Republic (1447-1450), the castle was abandoned, and part of its land was sold. In 1496,

Ludovico il Moro Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; 'the Moor'), and called the "arbiter of Italy" by historian Francesco Guicciardini,

expanded it, restoring its function of a country villa for hunting and parties. A portico with eight arches was added to the side of the courtyard near the entrance. A loggia was inserted externally in the north-eastern corner. The tower assumed the shape with the overlapping volumes, typical of the Sforza architecture, as it appears at the

Castello Sforzesco The Sforza Castle ( ; ) is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later renovated and enlarged, in the 1 ...

in Milan. In 1496, Ludovico il Moro hosted in the castle the emperor Maximilian I. Later, and until the 20th century, it was used as an agriculture warehouse and home for farmers. The external loggia was closed by a wall.

Today

Ceased its agricultural use, the castle was abandoned. Today it is in a poor state of repair, awaiting restoration. The castle stands as a backdrop to the Cusago central square. The church of Saints Firmus and Rusticus faces on the opposite side. CastelloCusagoLoggiato

References

Sources

* *

External links

di Cusago'' – Il Castello di Cusago
* ttp://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/architetture/schede/MI100-02888/''Lombardia Beni Culturali'' – Castello Visconteo - Cusago (MI) {{Visconti of Milan Castles in Lombardy