Borromeo Castle’s growth can be traced to its various hillside sections. At the top of the hill is the original fortified lookout tower and the Visconti Wing, followed by the western end of the small palazzo and the Visconti Tower. The half-acre medieval garden, overlooking the lake and enclosed within the vineyard, was recreated in 2008 and includes authentic and medicinal plants and aromatic herbs from the time period. Stefano Ember/Shutterstock
In this installment of ‘Larger Than Life: Architecture Through the Ages,’ we visit one of the few preserved fortified medieval castles.
The Borromeo castle, also known as Rocca di Angera, sits on a rocky cliff overlooking the town of Angera in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. With panoramic views of Lake Maggiore and the Alps, the fortified castle was strategically located to defend itself against the incursions of Swiss and Imperial (Byzantine) troops. It is one of the best-preserved masterpieces of Italian medieval architecture.
Initially, the castle belonged to the Milanese archbishop; then it passed to the Viscontis of Milan, and later to the Borromeos, who still own it today. The castle comprises five buildings, which were built at different times between the 11th and 17th centuries. The five bodies of the castle—the castle tower (the original fortified lookout tower), the Scaligera Wing, the Visconti Wing, the Giovanni Visconti Tower, and the Borromei Wing—enclose an internal courtyard. These buildings retain their unique and iconic features.
The Viscontis carried out important expansion and decoration work. When Ottone Visconti, archbishop and first lord of Milan, acquired the castle in the Battle of Desio (1277), he added a new wing called the Visconti wing (or Ottonian wing), which showcases the Sala di Giustizia (Hall of Justice). An unknown “master of Angera” painted the hall with magnificent frescoes described as being “among the richest and most complex in Italian medieval painting.”
Between 1375 and 1385, Bernabò Visconti built a third wing known as Ala Scaligera (the Della Scala wing) for his wife, Regina Della Scala.
The fourth building, called the Borromean wing, encloses the northern side of the castle. Originally built by the Visconti family, the Borromeo family made extensive renovations—including adding a magnificent Baroque staircase—in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Tower of Giovanni Visconti includes the Hall of Borromeo Glory, the Hall of the Good Roman, and the Hall of Mythology—each named for the subjects of the Baroque paintings that were commissioned to decorate them.
From The Epoch Times
