SHARRYLAND
Where is
What it is and where it is
Masnago Castle is a medieval corner within Mantegazza Park that holds unexpected joys for the eyes. The oldest element, from medieval times, is the tower characterized by the typical elements of 15th-century defensive structures: mighty walls and few openings in primis. Its massive presence is accompanied by the body of the building that leans against it and the sixteenth- and eighteenth-century wing that gives the whole the appearance of elegant country mansions.
Why it is special
The building is rich in important fifteenth-century fresco cycles with profane themes that decorate the "Hall of Leisure" on the ground floor and the "Hall of Vices and Virtues" on the second floor. The Sala degli Svaghi depicts the most common noble pastimes of the time for country residences. In the Hall of Vices and Virtues, a unique philosophical and moral iconography is painted through a classically inspired allegorical and didactic theme. The frescoes document the taste for details and naturalistic elements and are in the courtly tradition of International Gothic.
Not to be missed
It houses the Civica Collezione di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Varese in whose rooms one can admire the fusion of art and territory in a chronological path that combines past and present, modern and contemporary, religious and secular art in an unprecedented exercise of dialogue for the mind and soul. It holds works of painting, sculpture and graphics ranging from the 16th century to the contemporary with Baroque and Rococo works by Nuvolone or Magatti, 19th and 20th century works by Hayez, Cremona, Ranzoni, Balla, Montanari and Salvini, and more recent works by Guttuso, Baj, Tadini, Tavernari, Dadamaino and Bodini.
Curiosities
Mantegazza Park, a municipally owned green area, has an incredible wealth of species and more than 100 different varieties of trees and shrubs that embellish the area, making it a small botanical garden. Along Via Monguelfo, in front of the entrance to the park, there has been since 2017 the approximately 30-meter-long mural by David de la Mano, a Uruguayan artist trained in Spain. The work, "The boat," is a black-and-white march of strange figures holding spears with a single red element against a backdrop of trees in the garden behind in a united union of art and nature.
Tour of the frescoed rooms
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