Attractions and Places To See around Orio Litta - Top 20

The Castello di San Colombano (or Castello Belgioioso) stands in the medieval village famous for its vineyards and for being an exclave in the province of Milan. Dating back to the 6th century and rebuilt by Barbarossa in 1164, it is divided between a private area (the keep) and a communal one (the fortified village).

The villa was built according to its original design by Count Antonio Cavazzi della Somaglia, VIII Count and Baron of Somaglia, to showcase the power of his family, in an area where he owned several lands and estates. The count entrusted the design to architect Giovanni Ruggeri. Upon his death in 1688, Antonio bequeathed the villa to his great-nephew Antonio Dati, who subsequently assumed the title of Count of Somaglia. Dati oversaw the expansion of the palace, transforming it into a majestic residence intended as a holiday resort and meeting place for great figures of 18th-century Italian literature and culture, but he never lived to see the work completed, which was completed by his son Antonio Giovanni Battista in 1749.

An idyllic spot for a rest and a picnic! We soak up the peace and quiet. From here, it's supposedly possible to take a boat across, just as pilgrims did in the Middle Ages. It's probably busier here in the summer.

This palace is called the "Versailles" of Lombardy. Everything is locked. According to the sign, it can be visited by appointment. The grounds are vast.

I don't know when they will be finished but a cycle bridge is being planned downstream from the road bridge and it will avoid the stretch of SS 234, to date (March 2025) the foundations have been laid on both banks then we'll see...

Chignolo Po Castle

On gravel we followed dirt roads along waterways and cycle paths as much as possible, but you can get there faster with a road bike.

We left Gorgonzola in the direction of the Chignolo Po Castle, one of the sumptuous country residences of Lombardy, and after about three hours we arrived at our destination... discovering that the Castle was closed... no big deal we took pictures from the outside. Its oldest part is the tower, built as a garrison on the Po and on the connecting routes between northern Europe and Italy. The Castle, built in the thirteenth century, was transformed into a princely palace in the eighteenth century, through an imaginative stylistic reworking of the building. It appears as a majestic terracotta construction, surmounted by a protruding gallery supported by stone brackets. Each window is framed in white. The most spectacular element is the central tower, square and with battlements, embellished with a small loggia. Inside you can admire the apartments in which Pope Clement XI, Napoleon Bonaparte and Francis I of Austria were hosted, as well as the sumptuous ballroom on whose ceiling the glory of the four seasons is painted. The Castle is also home to the Museum of the History of Lombard Agricultural Civilization, created with the intent of bringing together the many historical realities that have formed the foundation of the agricultural activities of the lower Po Valley and the Lombard Wine Museum. The visit route aims to admire the monumental complex of the Castle of Chignolo Po and to enhance the history of its centuries-old royal fiefdom and its position along the Via Francigena. The visits are only guided as the Castle is a private residence. Nice trip!