ROCCA DI ANGERA

Castle and historic rooms

heading image

The Inner Courtyard

The heart of the Rocca is the internal courtyard, which in the lower part still has its original paving. From here you can access the five bodies of the castle, built at different times between 1000 and 1600: the main or castle tower, the Scaligera Wing, the Visconti Wing, the Giovanni Visconti Tower and the Borromei Wing. On the right of the courtyard, a low roof perched against the perimeter wall elicits curiousity: it is an ancient fermentation room from around 1630, which protects one of Italy’s largest screw presses, for pressing grapes. Opposite, the Scaligera Wing in Angera stone has undergone numerous changes from the 13th century to more recent years, when it was transformed into an evocative setting for contemporary art exhibitions. In front, at the highest level of the courtyard, stands the Borromei Wing, preceded by a large three-arched portico. The keystones bear the emblems of the Borromeo family: the motto Humilitas in the centre and the bit emblem on the sides. From here, a large seventeenth-century staircase leads to the main floor.

In the Gallery, thanks to the paintings hanging on the walls, visitors can put a face to numerous figures in the family: among the most significant, the equestrian portrait of Charles IV Borromeo, the one of Emilio Paolo Borromeo and a painting of Saint Charles, an old copy of the original housed in the Duomo in Milan, which depicts him greeting the Dukes of Savoy after the pilgrimage to the Holy Shroud in Turin. A special feature of the Sala delle Cerimonie [Hall of Ceremonies], recognisable due to its coffered wooden ceiling, is the presence of some parts of the frescoes from the mid-fifteenth century, saved from the Palazzo Borromeo in Milan following the bombing in 1943 that destroyed much of the building.

But the most famous and spectacular room in the castle is the Sala di Giustizia [Hall of Justice], on the second floor of the Visconti Wing. A miracle that has survived intact in its late thirteenth-century guise. Who would not feel small in the presence of such magnificence? The rectangular hall is divided into two bays with a double cross vault, completely frescoed on three sides and on the vaults. The author is a mysterious “Master of Angera” who distiguished himself with his exceptional chromatic flair in this cycle of fourteenth-century frescoes, considered among the richest and most complex in Italian medieval painting. The narration of the historical episodes, relating to the victory of the Battle of Desio in 1277, is correlated with the influence of the planets and the constellations of the zodiac.

Also noteworthy are the two large paintings that inspired the name of the Sala dei Fasti Borromeo [Hall of Borromean Glory], in the Giovanni Visconti tower. The canvases were created by the painter Filippo Abbiati to celebrate the antiquity and grandeur of the family. The painting in the Sala del Buon Romano [Hall of the Good Roman] is part of the same series, depicting Giovanni Borromeo driving the Goths out of Rome and being awarded the title of Good Roman. Also tied to the theme of the paintings it contains, the Sala della Mitologia [Hall of Mythology] is hung with copies of famous paintings depicting mythological subjects and also houses a collection of precious majolica from Europe and the East.

Bright geometric decorations with black and white diamonds and green and red diagonal bands personalise the Sala di San Carlo [Hall of San Carlo], so called because of the furnishings that belonged to San Carlo Borromeo, originally kept in this room. The restorations - carried out in subsequent eras from the Middle Ages to today - have kept the intensity of the colours intact, and as if by magic brought to light details of frescoes that had not been seen for a long time.

vertical gallery image
vertical gallery image

Subscribe now to our newsletter

Do you want to know the latest news from Terre Borromeo?

image
Sign up now