Villa di Breme Forno, building in Cinisello Balsamo, Italy
Villa di Breme Forno is a large mansion built in the 1700s and later reshaped in the classical style of the early 1800s. The building features a distinctive U-shaped layout with a main central section and lower side wings, decorated with columned porches and tall windows extending from floor to ceiling.
The property started as a hunting lodge with farmland under Filippo Archinto in the late 1600s. In the early 1800s, Ludovico Giuseppe Arborio Gattinara di Breme purchased the land and transformed it into a classical-style mansion that later attracted famous writers like Lord Byron and Stendhal.
The name comes from the di Breme family, who reshaped the building in the early 1800s through their renovation and stylistic changes. You can see their influence in the clean classical forms and the quiet character that defines the place today.
The site is located in the western part of Cinisello Balsamo at the intersection of via Diaz and via Martinelli, near the Church of San Martino. The gardens and surrounding park area are accessible to visitors, though the main building is currently used by the University of Milan Bicocca for teaching and research activities.
In the early 1800s, the mansion served as a gathering place where writers and patriots exchanged ideas, hosting figures like Lord Byron and Stendhal. After decades of neglect, the city purchased it in 1999 and restored it for university use, transforming the building from a forgotten ruin into an active center of learning and culture.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
