History

The beginning of the settling was around XII century when, according to some studiouses, in this area some Cistercian monks built a convent because of the destruction of the "central headquarters", which goes back to the VII century, probably situated where now rises the Church of St.Colombano in Vaprio d'Adda. As a matter of fact, the structure seems to be very simple and to belong to a monastic presence linked to the austere tradition promoted by the disciples of St.Colombano (540-615), who spread the message of the Irish Saint.

The architecture of the Villa, as it is still readable nowadays, allows to individuate the various bodies placed around the courtyard adjacent to the church which, divided by a double portico, could be the chloister in double vault. The result is a sense of unitary connection which centralizes different functions around the cult place: the capitulate room, the refectory, the dormitories.

The monastic use of the area went presumably on also after the creation of the nobiliary residence. Evidences of this fact are: a pastoral visit of the monastic community of Father Leonetto Clavonio in 1570 and also some cartographical information reported in a historical map of the VII century which show the route of the Naviglio of the Martesana and individuate in the South of Concesa and in the North of Vavero the "Monastery".
In the VII century the residence which raises on Monastirolo's hill becomes a modest country house called "The Countess". When the Count Giuseppe Simonetta owned the whole building at the beginning of the VIII century he transformed the ancient monastery in "Villa of the Delights" (in that period Madame De Bocage visited the Villa and her friend's Countess Simonetta's garden whose view is an "admirable tableau"). In that period the little church with the bell tower was rebuilt, it was realized an exedra and a new service courtyard was created. Mr. Tencajoli, a studious who visited the villa in 1908 and published an article dedicated to the monastery on the magazine "Ars et labor", says that the little church is clean, fresh, artistic.

The inner style is prevalently baroque with good frescos and stuccos on the walls and on the roof; there are also several primitive paintings, including a wonderful crucifixion . In the middle of the little church are the ashes of Count Giuseppe Simonetta, founder of the villa, together with the ones of his great-grandsome Giuseppe Castelbarco. A reliable scientific reference of the consistence of the building in the first half of the VIII century is provided by the map of Vaprio's territory - Pieve of Pontirolo - edited by the land-surveyor Gio Batta Molfi for the "General measure of the New Census" in 1721. In that period the whole building of Monasterolo was owned by Count Giuseppe Simonetta.

The little church was separated from the principal body organized around two courtyards, the first square in the East, and the second one, opened on the west side, rectangular. Looking at the territorial asset of the area reported on the cadastral table important considerations can be done: The way to Concesa is tangent to the palace and the church; The French gardens are connected on the East towards the Naively of the Martesana; On the bank of the Naively is indicated a building defined "site of Count Giuseppe Simonetta's furnaces". With The Castelbarco the villa reached its maximum splendour. The Count Cesare, who loved arts and letters, enlarged it with representative rooms and doubled the South wing (lemon room), erected two little palaces in empire style on the open space beside the terrace; the first one was turned into a museum and the second one into a theatre and then he realized the underground Galleries.

The villa was made "great and worthy seat of every kind of comforts and sumptuousness". Also the park of more than 1200 rods was cured, interspersed with little lakes, from large avenues bordered with statues and little temples to pheasant places in the romantic taste of that time.. The Abbot Giuseppe Barbieri wrote about Monasterolo in a letter to Count Cesare Castelbarco after visiting the wonderful site: "...where the Brembo marries to Adda, rises the villa , I was taken by a high pleasure..." The historian Cesare Cantù - History of Milan and its Province - in 1858: "...Villa Castelbarco (Monasterolo) is one of the most remarkable villas in Lombardia. In the villa it is possible to admire beautiful adorned and luxurious rooms and one of these rooms can be considered a museum because of the beautiful paintings, the rare animals and curious and bizarre things. The underground galleries are wonderful, full of mosaics, shells of tropical seas, and jets of water. In the galleries

You will also see an oratory with mosaics and marbles. The adjoining garden of 1200 rods is crossed by streets comfortable for coaches and it is adorned with dairy farms, little temples and aviaries. These galleries, wanted by Count Carlo Castelbarco, were built between the 1835 an the 1838 and they were one of the most important attractions of the villa. They consists of several rooms looking on a wide terrace facing on the Naively and the river Adda. In the Roman room, among the antiques coming from the excavation in Rome and in Latium, are the busts of Elena Albani and of his husband the Duke Litta: in a corner it is also possible to see the bust of Clemente XI (Francesco Albani) and the ones of the Roman emperors Commodo, Teodosio, Lucio, Elio, Aurelio, memorials and fragments. In the marine room, with walls covered with rare shells, is the statue of Neptune and one of a longobard king or of a Venetian doge, and a little statue of a young boy of Castelbarco's house; a trophy do as a chandelier. In the raphaelitian room excels Hercules' statue with the abundance horn tore by him from river Archelòs: this statue rises on a fine Roman altar. In this same room there are also the busts of Raffaello Sanzio, Giulio Cesare, Cicerone, Livia and Messalina, medallions with the profiles of emperor Galba, Britannico, and the ones in sandstone of two viscounts lords of Milan.

In the Egyptian room it is possible to see a god of the pharaoh age, with a lion head and the rest of the body in human shape and, in front of it, a tomb, a cippus with an inscription in ancient Egyptian, some sphinxes and historiated columns. In the Etruscan room stands out the bust of Cleopatra, which should be in the previous room; there are also a lot of earthen wares, all placed in order on stone tables and on the floor, some goatskins, dishes and others objects found in Tuscan excavations. After these five rooms, there is an oratory and on its altar are based four marble branched candlestick and, in the middle, there is a lapis lazuli cross, as well as a very nice marble child head with a dagger driven into his throat. Under the table another work of the VI century, a very fine marble boy. Getting out of the oratory, there is a hall with some adjacent dungeons, and, on the bottom, there is a little artificial waterfall. In the wall of these little compartments are stuck some medallions - busts of the twelve emperors of the Cesarian family.

In the middle is a sink, with a water jet surrounded by little dolphins which sprinkle water. There, is a long and narrow gallery, adorned with busts and statues, which links these dungeons to the greenhouses where blooming orchids grow and pineapples fructify. A second cartographic reference about the consistence of the estate is provided by the "Map of Vaprio d'Adda" - Milan's province - of the 1866 (Cadastre of Italian Reign). The principal body of the building is similar to the present one and it is characterized by a three courtyard system, with the doubled wing (lemon room) and the Italian gardens along the same South wing. The North stables, called arsenal, the covered riding school, the greenhouses, the Fasanera and the Cartiera dairy farm go up to the first half of the IX. The way to Concesa still follows the layout of the '700 tangent to the building; while appears the limes avenue, which linked the palace to the street which leads Grezzago to Vaprio and the avenue which, from the square with the theatre and the museum, leads to the lions gate in Cascine St.Pietro. The correction of the route of Way per Concesa went up to the beginning of the 1950s and it was wanted by the Counts Quintavalle, owners of the villa until 1975, after the Massimini who succeeded themselves to the Castelbarco.