At the beginning of the 15th Century this building was a fortress used to control the territory. Then, because of new strategic necessities, in the middle of the Century, the military structure was slowly transformed in a noble house. More specifically, it became the house of Cecilia Gallerani, the noble woman painted by Leonardo in his famous painting La dama con l’ermellino, the lover of Ludovico il Moro and the wife of the Count of San Giovanni in Croce, Ludovico Carminati.
The building was restored several times and nowadays we only have few elements of the original construction: the bent lower part of the structure and the four towers in the corners.  
In the back there is a big English-style garden with a Chinese pagoda, an Indian temple, a Dutch hut, a lake and a Doric small temple. The vegetation is flourishing, you can find also a Ginkgo biloba.
Since 2005 the villa and the garden have been owned by the Municipality of San Giovanni in Croce and in 2014 they were opened to the public for visits and cultural events.