Visconti Castle (Bereguardo) | |
---|---|
Castello Visconteo di Bereguardo | |
Bereguardo | |
Coordinates | 45°15′22″N9°01′35″E / 45.25611°N 9.02639°E |
Type | Medieval castle |
Site information | |
Owner | Municipality of Bereguardo |
Open to the public | Yes |
Condition | Good |
Site history | |
Built | 14th century |
Built by | Luchino Visconti |
Materials | Bricks |
The Visconti Castle of Bereguardo, Castello Visconteo of Bereguardo in Italian, is a medieval castle in Via Castello 2, Bereguardo, Province of Pavia, Lombardy, Italy.
The castle is one of the several residences the Visconti, dukes of Milan, built west of their city. It has the quadrangular plan characteristic of the Visconti castles of the Lombard Plain but lacks the typical corner towers. Luchino Visconti probably built the castle around the middle of the 14th century. Galeazzo II Visconti used it as a temporary residence of his court. [1] [2]
Filippo Maria Visconti enlarged the castle in the 15th century. He also added a wide mullioned window near the western corner, as attested by its central marble column, bearing the initials FM, which stands for Filippo Maria. [1] [3] Filippo Maria also built the Naviglio di Bereguardo, which connected the Naviglio Grande at Abbiategrasso, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) north, with the castle. The dukes of Milan could then go from Milan to Bereguardo by boat, navigating along the Naviglio Grande until Abbiategrasso and the Naviglio di Bereguardo until the castle. [4]
In 1450, Duke Francesco I Sforza entrusted the Bereaguardo possessions to his son-in-law Giovanni Maruzzi da Tolentino. The Tolentino family was lord of Bereguardo and owner of the castle until the 18th century. The various branches of the family progressively divided their lands. One of them built a Baroque villa in front of the castle.
After a few ownership changes, the building came to the engineer Giulio Pisa, who, at the end of the 19th century, donated it to the town of Bereguardo. [5] [2] The municipality of Bereguardo transformed the castle, adapting its rooms for private housing. [6]
The most notable change over the centuries was the demolition of the porticoed wing that closed the courtyard to the west. [7]
At the end of the 20th century, the municipality of Bereguardo completely restored the castle of Bereguardo to use it for the local community. [1]
Currently, the castle hosts the Abbiategrasso municipality offices and the civic library.
The demolition of one side of the castle gave it the current U-shaped plan. The most significant architectural element is the mullioned window near the western corner. The side with the main entrance maintains a moated bridge and displays the original crenellations. [1] [7]
The Rocca Borromeo di Angera, or Rocca d'Angera, also called Borromeo Castle, is a rocca on a hilltop above the town of Angera in the Province of Varese on the southern shores of Lago Maggiore. It has medieval origins and initially belonged to the Milanese archbishop. It passed then to the Visconti of Milan and later to the Borromeos, who are still the owners.
The Visconti Castle of Pagazzano is a moated, late-medieval castle located in Pagazzano, a town in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy. The castle in the current form was probably erected between 1450 and 1475, at the initiative of the Visconti di Brignano transforming the previous 14th-century quadrangular fortification with a surrounding moat.
The Visconti Castle in Pandino is a 14th-century castle located in the center of the town of Pandino, province of Cremona, region of Lombardy, Italy. It was built by Bernabò Visconti and his wife, Beatrice Regina della Scala, between 1355 and 1361. Today it essentially retains its original forms.
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The Visconti Castle of Abbiategrasso is a medieval castle in Abbiategrasso, Lombardy, northern Italy. It was among the first Visconti castles built according to their typical quadrangular layout. In the 14th and 15th centuries, it was one of the preferred residences of the duchesses of Milan of the Visconti and Sforza houses. Today, the castle's surviving part serves as the seat of the municipality of Abbiategrasso.
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The Visconti Castle of Crenna is a castle of mediaeval origin located in Crenna, frazione of Gallarate, Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is linked to the fame of Lodrisio Visconti, who raised against and then reconciled with the members of the family of his cousin Matteo Visconti, Lord of Milan. In the 14th century, the castle underwent expansion and destruction according to the alternative fortunes of Lodrisio.
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The Visconti Castle of Lodi is a historical building in Lodi, Lombardy, northern Italy. As it appears today, it is the result of transformations made on a Middle Age castle founded in the 12th century by Frederick Barbarossa. Its name derives from the Visconti family, lords and dukes of Milan, who in the 13th and 14th centuries took possession of and then rebuilt the original fortification.
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The Visconti Castle of Voghera is a Middle Age castle in Voghera, Lombardy, Northern Italy. It was built in the 14th century by the Visconti, lords and dukes of Milan.
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