The Parco Borromeo is the enclosed park of Palazzo Arese Borromeo, in Cesano Maderno: it extends on the east side of the palace, over a level area of about ten hectares. It is one of the few parts of the municipal territory that has not been built up. Among the Borromeo who held the palace, Renato III was responsible for some changes to the garden. In 1987 the town council acquired the palace together with the gardens.
What to see
The park is divided between the formal Italian garden and the meadows to the north. The garden has box hedges and is bounded by two avenues of yews and hornbeams. After the rose gardens, which hold more than six thousand white and red roses, it ends with a circular basin and a fountain decorated with one of the Borromeo emblems, the dromedary in the basket.
Behind the fountain is a small wood, with a canal and the Tempietto del fauno; at the far end is the monumental gateway that once led to the menagerie and the hunting reserve. In the garden there are numerous statues recalling ancient Rome, and at the northern end of the avenue that cuts the park in half stands an aviary.
Visiting
The park is public. Opening times and any closures should be checked with the town of Cesano Maderno.
Our editors' tip
From the garden you see the east side of the palace, the one opposite the square: a Genoese loggia of three double bays and, beneath it, a double portico that holds the busts of the Caesars.
