Buildings at the site of Somma Lombardo Castle date from the 9th century and the fortress from the 13th century. In 1448, the brothers Francesco and Guido Visconti, took refuge in this town and castle from the forces of the Ambrosian Republic. They divided the landholdings and portions of the castle. The fortress has been amalgamated from adjacent residences, all once surrounded by a single moat. From the brother Francesco, who owned the newer portion of the castle, descend the Visconti di San Vito; while from Guido, who owned the lower and older portions of the castle, descend the Visconti di Modrone.
The San Vito castle contains frescoes attributed to the school of Camillo Procaccini and an altarpiece by Cerano. The castle also has an extensive collection of barber plates.
Parts of the castle are used for private events and open for guided tours.
References:The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.