Villa San Martino, Noble villa in Arcore, Italy.

Villa San Martino is a noble residence in Arcore, reached by a long perspective avenue aligned with the central arch of its portico. The building has a U-shaped plan open toward the town, with an ochre or pale peach stucco facade, rectangular windows with dark louvered shutters, and pale stone surrounds on the piano nobile. A tall black iron gate with heraldic medallions stands between stone pillars.

A Benedictine monastery once stood on the San Martino site; in the mid-18th century the Giulini counts acquired it with its lands and rebuilt it in neoclassical forms. Count Giorgio Giulini gave the building its U-shaped plan open toward the town. In the early 19th century it passed by marriage to the Casati, and by the century's end to the Casati Stampa di Soncino.

The library grew steadily under Count Alessandro Casati's care, forming an important collection by the mid-20th century. The philosopher Benedetto Croce visited several times and held long discussions with the count in the rooms about literature and politics.

Villa San Martino is a private residence of the Berlusconi family and is not open to the public; the gate on viale San Martino can be viewed from the street. The entrance axis runs from the square in front of Villa Borromeo d'Adda westward through the courtyard of honour and the garden toward the Lambro.

The park's access avenue was laid out as a single perspective axis running from the square before Villa Borromeo, through the courtyard of honour, the portico's central arch and a matching opening in the hall, then across the garden to the Lambro, flanked by a long row of tall poplars. Trees and a boundary wall now partly interrupt the view.