ビナーゴの洞窟・トップ4

Built in the 14th century as a hunting lodge.

In the municipality of Castiglione Olona, the Monteruzzo castle stands out for its white profile and its imposing towers. Being located in an elevated position, it is clearly visible from afar and today houses the civic library. Furthermore, it is often used as a center for fairs and events.

Decentralized from the town centre, now a hamlet of Sumirago, the castle was built in the 14th century as a home for hunting activities. It has a massive quadrangular structure, with a central courtyard and a sturdy square tower overlooking the valley. The transformations of the 17th century converted the castle into a residential villa, while maintaining some features of the origins. The park, built in the 18th century in the English garden style, is home to three farmhouses.

In the frescoed rooms of the fourteenth-century Palazzo dei Castiglioni in Monteruzzo, there is the Plastic Arts Museum, which exhibits an original collection of around fifty plastic works created in the 1970s by some of the most popular international artists of the post-war period (Carla Accardi, Enrico Baj, Giacomo Balla, Man Ray...). The MAP constitutes one of the most interesting results of the meeting between art and industry and is the first museum in Italy dedicated to works of art in multi-material materials.

Castiglione Olona - beautiful glimpse of the castle of Monteruzzo

Archaeological area declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, part of the serial site: The Lombards in Italy. During the Byzantine and Lombard age Castel Seprio was a civitas. Between 1285 and 1287 the town was razed to the ground by the Milanese fighting against the Torriani. The Archbishop of Milan Ottone Visconti decreed its perpetual abandonment, with the exception of the churches, which were officiated until the 17th century. After several excavations, an antiquarium was opened in 2009. The remains of the Basilica of S. Giovanni Evangelista (5th century), the remains of the hexagonal church of S. Paolo, the farmhouse-convent of S. Paolo and the remains of the village are still visible. A few hundred meters to the northwest, the church of Santa Maria Foris Portas, important for the frescoes in the apse area.

I visited this Castle years ago, on the occasion of an FAI Day and it is really worth a visit whenever possible. But even the mere external view, on a beautiful day, repays the effort of the ascent.

Private castle of Caidate of Visconti origin