Camairago: a Borromeo castle on the river Adda

In the lowland countryside south-east of Milan, where the province of Lodi meets those of Cremona and Piacenza, the village of Camairago sits on a terrace above the river Adda. Now part of the municipality of Castelgerundo, it is a small place of a few hundred people, but it guards a fine medieval fortress.

The castle

The Borromeo Castle of Camairago was raised in the first half of the 15th century for Vitaliano I Borromeo, a ducal banker who received the fief from the duke of Milan and built the stronghold to defend the Adda valley. Made almost entirely of brick, it has a rectangular plan with an access ravelin bearing the Borromeo motto and corner towers, two of which survive, around a courtyard with pointed arches. Well preserved, the castle later served as an Austrian headquarters during the wars of Italian independence and is now used for events.

Along the Adda

The village lies within the South Adda Regional Park, a green ribbon of river, woods and farmland that follows the old Roman road towards Cremona, good for cycling and birdwatching.

Where it is

Camairago is in the Adda valley between Lodi and Cremona, about fifty kilometres south-east of Milan.