In the heart of Franciacorta, among rolling hills of vineyards, dominates Bornato Castle and Villa Orlando, a very rare example of a Renaissance villa built inside a medieval castle. The panoramic position of the residence allows the view to sweep over the Po Valley and to glimpse, on clear days, the Apennines.

The core of the castle is a mighty Roman stronghold erected to guard the consular road that joined Bergamo to Brescia. Giambellino da Bornato, a great patron of the arts and letters, made the residence a meeting point for artists and poets from all over Italy, among whom Dante Alighieri deserves mention.

The park offers an Italian-style garden to the south and an English-style garden to the north. There are several centuries-old plants housed there: cedars of Lebanon, cedars deodar, ginkgo biloba and, extremely rare, a 200-year-old Sophora japonica, the only surviving specimen of the first ones imported to Europe at the end of the 18th century.