Originally built by the Pusterla family, the 10-acre estate was later acquired by the Cirivelli and Arconati families. During the 19th century it became known as “Villa Napoleone” after Napoleon Bonaparte used it as his headquarters during the Italian chapter of the French Revolutionary Wars.
By 1879, the government had converted the estate into one of the largest psychiatric facilities in the country. It wasn’t until after 1978, when a new law called for the dismantling of psychiatric hospitals, that the nearly 700 year-old estate was abandoned. No effort has been made to restore it since. 
For many Italians who inherit hundreds-year-old properties, the windfall can end up more a curse than a blessing. Very often people can’t keep up with high taxes and maintenance costs,
Decades of rainfall and the damage caused by earthquakes, which are not uncommon in central Italy, do eventually take their toll. “When you come into a place and see water infiltrations in its foundations, you know that there is very little one can do.” In other cases, however, restoration efforts can make a difference. 
My favorite villa so far is one I photographed two years ago, just outside Milan. When the photographer first visited it, this particular mansion was in pretty bad shape. Walls were cracked and parts of the ceilings had collapsed on the floor. But thanks to intensive renovations it has since been restored and a family now lives there.
Finding the best spots to capture sumptuous interiors or decadent facades is clearly an important part. But so is the ability to imagine how these places used to look, sound, and feel when they were still inhabited.
“Sometimes I try to capture a detail that can suggest something about the people who used to live there,”. A couple of years ago a villa that was probably owned by an artist, we found a room filled with just an easel and paints. “Everything in there, from bed sheets to newspapers to kitchenware, looked like it was left exactly as it was.”
