Treviglio

The manner house of Castel Cerreto is a small hamlet of Treviglio that still keeps alive and clearly visible the agricultural vocation from which its history originated and developed.

The land of Castel Cerreto was purchased at the end of the 15th century by the Rozzone family, who built the turret as a watchtower. From the Rozzones, the property then passed to the Piazzoni clan. Countess Emilia Woyna Piazzoni, the last member of the family, bequeathed the estate to the Bergamo Orphanage.
Castel Cerreto is still characterised today by the presence of several courtyards, the most imposing of which is the Corte Padronale or Castello with a well and an ice house, in which the snow collected during the winter would be packed for storing perishable goods during the warm months.

To reach the icebox, you must go about four metres underground. Some metres below street level, to the left of the staircase, is a large cellar used as a pantry. Another flight of stairs leads down to a large room, about four metres high and supported by a large circular vault. At the top, an opening connects to the courtyard well from which the ice room was filled with snow. Perishable foodstuffs such as game and fresh meat from the slaughterhouse would be stored here, effectively creating a refrigerated room for communal use, which likely served many families in addition to the owners.

Two other historical courts are the Corte dell’Aia and the Corte dei Massari. The first served as a granary, with the vast threshing floor not enclosed by walls to enjoy the sun at all hours. Where today there are dwellings, there were once large warehouses. The Corte dei Massari, on the other hand, was the farmers’ living quarters. In 1903, it briefly housed the Colonia Agricola and now serves as a home for children.
The Church of San Girolamo and San Francesco, adjacent to the Corte Padronale, has medieval origins. The Rozzone family attached great importance to religious life, so much so that Bartolomeo Rozzone established a perpetual legacy in favour of the clergy of Treviglio with the onus to celebrate mass every feast day in the Church of Cerreto. The Piazzoni had the building restored in 1847, adding the pronaos. Inside are the high altar and two secondary altars dedicated to Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary. On the right side next to the main gate is the tomb of the Counts Piazzoni.
Cerreto is lapped to the north by Roggia Moschetta and to the south-west by Roggia Vignola, the oldest irrigation ditches in Treviso. The waters from these irrigation ditches derived from the Brembo river. The Moschetta irrigation ditch was dug from 1309 onwards. The “partiture” (or, “divider”) present in the Cerreto area splits the Moschetta irrigation ditch into two main branches. There’s the Visconti irrigation ditch, which continues towards Brignano, and the Sopra irrigation ditch, which irrigates the fields of Cerreto and the northern area of Treviglio.
In 1901, Don Ambrogio Portaluppi founded the “Società dei Probi Contadini di Castel Cerreto e Battaglie” (“Society of Probate Farmers of Castel Cerreto and Battaglie”) which, in the following decades, became one of the best examples of peasant society, attracting delegations of visitors from all over Europe.