Although there was a passive resistence by the fathers, the Convent was fortified by the Emperor and became effectively a Castle, being used as an observation point. The castle passed through the hands of various owners, such as Beauharnais, Napoleon’s family. At the end of the XIX century, it was the property of the poet Giuseppe Bianchi, who received, with the poet Giuseppe Giacosa, as guests the famous actress Eleonora Duse and the composer Arrigo Boito, who lived a passionate love story here.
In the 1930’s, the Castle was bought by Giovanni Perona, an Italo-American who founded in New York the famous restaurant “El Morocco”.
He received as guests many famous people of those years (such as Ginger Rogers) and he realized many important works for the Castle.
The land of the Castle is surrounded by small lakes: one of them, Lake Sirio, was called Lake S. Giuseppe. Later, the Castle fell into decay and was abandoned for years and was finally bought by the actual owners, who restored and converted it into a charming hotel, opening the ancient rooms to cultural and artistic exhibitions, brought back with passion to its antique splendour...
