The Visconti Castle of Lodi is a historical building in

Lodi, Lombardy Lodi ( , ; Western Lombard, Ludesan: ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Lombardy, northern Italy, primarily on the western bank of the Adda River, Italy, River Adda. It is the capital of the province of Lodi. History Antiquity Lodi ...

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 ...

. As it appears today, it is the result of transformations made on a

Middle Age Middle age (or middle adulthood) is the age range of the years halfway between childhood and old age. The exact range is subject to public debate, but the term is commonly used to denote the age range from 45 to 65 years. Overall This time span ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

founded in the 12th century by

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

. Its name derives from the Visconti family, lords and dukes of

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 ...

, who in the 13th and 14th centuries took possession of and then rebuilt the original fortification.

History

Lodi in the 12th century was among the Lombard cities that initially supported the emperor Frederick Barbarossa in the war engaged by him against Milan and the

Lombard League The Lombard League (; ) was an alliance of cities formed in 1167, and supported by the popes, to counter the attempts by the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman emperors to establish direct royal administrative control over the cities of the Kingdom of It ...

. The castle was built by the emperor near the door of the city on the way to Milan, located about 30 kilometres north of Lodi. It was used by the imperial forces during the war and especially for their devastating attack to Milan in 1162. In the first half of the 14th century the castle was acquired by members of the Visconti house during the period of their initial expansion. Later, the castle became part of the dominions of

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 rebuilt by him between 1355 and 1370. In 1416

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 ...

reinforced the

ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle a ...

. In 1456

Francesco Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'Aqui ...

added a round tower to the northern corner of the castle. At the beginning of the 20th century, the rounded tower (''Torrione'') was elevated to host the supply tank of the

mains water A water supply network or water supply system is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components that provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes the following: # A drainage basin (see water purification – source ...

. Since then, it has become a landmark of Lodi.

Today

The castle today is the seat of the Questura of Lodi, the local office of the

Italian Ministry of the Interior The Ministry of the Interior () is a government agency of Italy, headquartered in Rome. It is a cabinet-level ministry of the Italian Republic. As of October 2022, Matteo Piantedosi, former Prefect of Rome, is the minister. Responsibilities The ...

References

Sources

External links

''Città di Lodi - Gli edifici storici di Lodi - Castello Visconteo''Visconti - Lodi (LO)''
{{Visconti of Milan Castles in Lombardy