Visconti Castle Visconti Castle of Fagnano Olona (VA)
Ingresso Castello
Castello Visconteo di Fagnano Olona (VA); La pianura attorno a
Fagnano offre la magnifica vista del Monte Rosa.
Il castello si trova in una posizione privilegiata sia dal punto di vista panoramico, la torre in particolare consente di godere di magnifici paesaggi, sia dal punto di vista strategico e di controllo.
Siamo infatti all’imbocco meridionale della Valle dell’
Olona , luogo di transito e di commercio.
Da notare che questa fortificazione is just the first of a series of laps around the river Olona.
Little is news about its origins, it seems, however, that the castle had already existed, just as a fortified place in Roman times.
Certainly we know that in 1257 became the property of
Visconti of Milan, which marked the longest period in history.
Before that year the building had belonged to the lords of Seprio, which gave manforte to Barbarossa at the Battle of Legnano, "the May 29, 1176 against the communists and the Lombard League and emerged defeated.
Over the centuries the Visconti Castle
fagnanese was used as a various functions and therefore was amended several times in its structure.
ditch Old
In '400 Filippo Maria Visconti
he built the two towers, built two buildings and create a courtyard, the current first courtyard.
In the following century were built two other buildings and a second courtyard, the visible just across the moat. In the second half of 1500
Gaspare Visconti lords of Fontaneto or
Fagnano, Archbishop of Milan, he wanted the old manor house became the second of his family. Today the castle
, which in recent years has been the subject of considerable restoration work, is the town hall and houses the municipal offices.
Castle
Fagnano Olona is located on the ridge overlooking the river Olona
and has always had an important strategic function.
Since the early Middle Ages, the Valley
Olona was a natural way of penetration from the north to the plains of Milan, so it is naturally found along the valley a series of fortifications chance to watch the path beginning from Varese, falling to Castiglione
Olona, \u200b\u200bFagnano
Castelseprio and precisely. The castle
viene considerato l’antemurale di Castelseprio ed è citato nelle lotte tra i torrioni e i
Visconti . Nel 1257 l’Arcivescovo milanese Leone da Perego abbandonata la città, si rifugiò nel Seprio, mentre da Milano partì Martino della
Torre , Capitano del popolo, che giunto con le sue milizie a
Fagnano assediò il
castello che gli resistette e non fu conquistato.
Stemma Visconteo
Nel 1285 invece
Fagnano visse di riflesso i fatti legati al Contado e alle lotte tra le fazioni Torrione e quelle Viscontee.
In October of that year Viscount forces besieged the fortress of Castelseprio at that time held by Guido da Castiglione, a follower of the towers.
then abandoned the enterprise brought to
Fagnano but we do not know if at that time the castle was damaged.
Seprio When finally passed into the hands of
Visconti, Castle
Fagnano was held by that branch of his family was called
Visconti di Fagnano .
fagnanese The feud came to split into two distinct parts, one was assigned to the branch of John
of Gasparo Visconti for which he formed the Lords of
Fagnano branch che si estinse nel 1514.
L’altra parte del feudo venne affidata ai discendente di Azzo
Visconti , fratello di Giovanni e che formarono il ramo dei
Visconti di Ierago.
Mentre ai primi spettò il castello, i secondi abitarono nel cosiddetto “Castellazzo” e la parte feudale da loro detenuta si nominerà “Comune di Azzo
Visconti ”.
Il castello di
Fagnano nel 1451 venne affidato da Francesco Sforza a Filippo Maria
Visconti conte di Albizzate, e figlio del milite Gaspare e di Agnese Besozzi.
Frescoes
same was confirmed in 1470 by Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza. In
diaries Cicco Simonetta ducal secretary, remembered a stay in 1474 by Galeazzo Maria Sforza Castle
Fagnano during a hunt.
fact, the Duke at the end of October of that year after driving in Castiglione, Varese, Gallarate and around, spent the night of Oct. 31 at the Castle of Fagnano
, "loco de Messer Filippo Visconti
. In 1500 the castle was still fully efficient and sympathetic to the struggles that affected the Dukes of Gallarate, English and French troops.
È segnalato un assedio da parte delle truppe ducali al castello, presidiato dai francesi del capitano Valmontone.
Circondato il fortilizio i ducali ruppero l’ostinata resistenza degli assediati snidandoli con cariche esplosive che fecero cadere una parete del
castello .
L’Imperatore Carlo V nel 1551 concesse il titolo di Conte di Fagnano a Vitaliano
Visconti Borromeo. A Gaspare
Visconti , che succederà a Carlo Borromeo nel 1585 come Arcivescovo di Milano, sono attribuiti i lavori di ristrutturazione del castello già rovinato nei decenni precedenti.
Nel trasformato
castello l’Arcivescovo Gaspare
Visconti trascorreva i periodi estivi and took refuge here during the epidemic of 1587-88.
In 1674 the estate was held jointly by fagnanese
Fontaneto Visconti and Visconti
Borromeo.
Cortile del Castello
Located in the center of the country, on the left bank of the Olona, \u200b\u200bthe castle still has its obvious massive fortified structures. Originally, the plan of the fort was quadrilateral, with four buildings around the courtyard and two corner towers.
This is the part that still exists on the north side the complex structure XV. Later, in the next century, we performed the works of extension attributed to Gaspare Visconti
, thus doubling the area of \u200b\u200bthe castle to the south, with the bodies and the second courtyard facing the country.
Today the castle presents so this dual structure. Towards
runs around the square where the dry moat, the main entrance which is accessed by a bridge over the ditch.
The portal frame with embossed baroque and two columns side by Sarizzo access to the first courtyard. Above runs a stylish balcony, while the sides are the buildings added to the end of 1500. The brickwork appearance of the new wings certainly softens the severe forms of the castle, giving it more the character of today's residential building that fort.
into the yard through a triportico fought with pillars divide the first and second courtyard and the subdivision meets the real separation between the new and the old fifteenth-century baroque. The second courtyard has traces of polychrome frescoes on the walls with coats of arms and decorative elements. Under the plaster peeling you can still read the evolution of the frames of the windows in the fifteenth century brick, with arched center and depressed center, now bricked up.
Cortile del Castello Visconti
On top north of the courtyard there is a snake Visconti coat of arms with the letters F and sides of R.
Including to the porch is a round with snake FM Visconti and the Gothic letters, perhaps the emblem of Filippo Maria Visconti
who held the castle in the middle of the fifteenth century. Other
Stone Crest Visconti is on the portal that gives access to the stairs to the upper floors. Between the first and second courtyard on the north sides are the two original towers of the castle
.
The left tower, down from the early edition was plastered. In the main facade
it has drawn up a window of a previous arc center. In the top frame runs a brick sawtooth, a typical feature of the structures Visconti. The
tower on the right is part of its structure in brick walls.
A decoration with typical sawtooth which is found in the castles of the Visconti Sforza plain runs along the median strip.
Above there are two windows on each side, arched, some walls.
The roof rests on the crown of battlements Ghibellines conclude that the top without transport. On the outside, south east of the building, you can clearly see the gap between the first and second body, which was added later.
Sulla parete del corpo quattrocentesco corre all’altezza del secondo piano una serie di merli, poi integrati nella costruzione, che denota l’antico andamento della muratura e la successiva trasformazione in epoca barocca.
*
All’interno del
Castello è situata la sede della Pro Loco cittadina, e la struttura fortificata ospita manifestazioni e mostre organizzate dalla Pro Loco e dalle numerose Associazioni fagnanesi.
Bassorilievo in pietra raffigurante la "Madonna che Allatta"
Sulla facciata esterna del maniero è posto il stone bas-relief depicting the "Madonna nursing", dating back to VX century.
The relief was fully cleaned and restored by the Pro Loco
fagnanese in 2000.
* The complex is accessible by a bridge.
to recall the ancient military function of
Castle, is a moat, now completely dried up.
From the site of the "Pro Loco di Fagnano Olona
;
To learn more, visit http://www.proloco-fagnanoolona.org/pag/itinerari/castello_visconteo.html I warmly thank Mr. Door of the "Pro Loco di Fagnano Olona
” per avermi cortesemente accolto ed accompagnato nella visita al
Castello e colgo l’occasione per complimentarmi con tutta l’Associazione augurando un buon prosieguo nelle loro attività.
A. Curcio
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