Castello di Carimate, Medieval castle in Carimate, Italy

Castello di Carimate is a 14th-century castle on Piazza Castello #1 in Carimate, Province of Como. Its large square Gothic block surrounds a central courtyard, with a tall brick tower at the southwest corner and traces of a portcullis and drawbridge at the former gatehouse. The second-floor windows are mullioned and the roofline crenellated.

The castle was built in 1345 by Luchino I Visconti at a strategic location between Como and Milan, replacing earlier fortifications. It reflects the Visconti family's political power in the region during the medieval period.

The castle's name comes from the Visconti family, who held it from 1345; in 1434 Duke Filippo Maria Visconti granted Carimate as a fief to Giorgio Aicardi, called "Scaramuzza", for revealing a conspiracy against him, and the Aicardi added Visconti to their surname. A plaque on the north side of the tower recalls that in 1866 Vittorio Emanuele II and Giuseppe Garibaldi watched troop movements from the tower during the Third Italian War of Independence.

The castle is now a 50-room hotel and spa with an on-site restaurant, about 30 minutes from Milan. Guests can use the adjacent golf course, the first such residential development in Italy, built after 1957. The tall brick tower stands at the southwest corner, largely separate from the main block, and the northern side has an elevated terrace above the grounds.

Between 1977 and 1987, sections of the castle operated as Stone Castle Studios, a recording facility that attracted musicians like Yes and Fabrizio De André. The location became a destination for artists seeking to record music within historic walls.