Cassano d'Adda


Cassano d'Adda is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, Italy, located on the right side of the Adda River. It is on the border of the Metropolitan City of Milan and the province of Bergamo. It is served by Cassano d'Adda railway station.

History

The first documentary record of the existence of Cassano is the Carlomanno charter from 887 AD.
Due to its strategic position at a crossing of the Adda river a number of historic battles took place in Cassano:
Other historical people who stopped in Cassano include Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796 and 1807, and King Victor Emmanuel II and Emperor Napoleon III in 1859, just before the Battle of Solferino.

Linificio

Two artificial canals connect the Adda River with Lodi and Milano respectively, making Cassano an important agricultural town and then an industrial one during the 19th century. The Linificio is a monument to this industrial past, with its 'worker village', very similar as a concept to Crespi d'Adda.

Main sights

The most important landmark in Cassano is the Borromeo Castle, built around 1000 AD and progressively expanded. In the 15th century, Francesco I Sforza asked architect Bartolomeo Gadio to redesign it extensively. Afterwards, it became the possession of Venetians, Spanish, Austrians, and of the Italian noble families d'Adda, Castaldo, Bonelli and Borromeo.
The neoclassic Villa d'Adda Borromeo is the other excellent sight in this town, surrounded by a green park, and designed by Giuseppe Piermarini. Also of interest are the medieval 'ricetto', villa Brambilla, villa Gabbioneta, villa Cornaggia-Medici, villa Mauri, casa Pasini, casa Rusca, casa Corsini, palazzo Berva, a square church tower of the 14th century, and the Immacolata, S. Aquilino, S. Dionigi, S. Antonio and S. Ambrogio churches.

People

Cassano was the birthplace of