Built in the 14th century at the behest of the Pusterla lords as a suburban residence, it was purchased by the Arconati family in 1579 and in the early 18th century sold to Count Giuseppe Angelo Crivelli, who transformed it into a luxurious residence with an Italianate garden. The villa was the scene of important historical events. In 1797, Napoleon Bonaparte set up his headquarters there and later his court. In the adjoining oratory of St. Francis, the wedding of the two sisters of the then First Consul, Pauline and Elisa, was celebrated.
In 1863 the Province of Milan purchased the historic building to use it as an asylum, and it remained so until the Basaglia Law, by which psychiatric institutions were closed. Now the villa houses a vocational training school.
