While fighting in the neighbourhood, he had observed the unrivalled capacities for defence presented by its site; and some pre-vision of his future destinies now urged him to acquire it, as the basis for the free marauding life he planned.  The headland of Musso lies about halfway between Gravedona and Menaggio, on the right shore of the Lake of Como.  Planted on a pedestal of rock, and surmounted by a sheer cliff, there then stood a very ancient tower, commanding this promontory on the side of the land.  Between it and the water the Visconti, in more recent days, had built a square fort; and the headland had been further strengthened by the addition of connecting walls and bastions pierced for cannon.  Combining precipitous cliffs, strong towers, and easy access from the lake below, this fortress of Musso was exactly the fit station for a pirate.  So long as he kept the command of the lake, he had little to fear from land attacks, and had a splendid basis for aggressive operations.  Il Medeghino made his request to the Duke of Milan; but the foxlike Sforza would not grant him a plain answer.  At length he hinted that if his suitor chose to rid him of a troublesome subject, the noble and popular Astore Visconti, he should receive Musso for payment.  Crimes of bloodshed and treason sat lightly on the adventurer’s conscience.  In a short time he compassed the young Visconti’s death, and claimed his reward.  The Duke despatched him thereupon to Musso, with open letters to the governor, commanding him to yield the castle to the bearer.  Private advice, also entrusted to Il Medeghino, bade the governor, on the contrary, cut the bearer’s throat.  The young man, who had the sense to read the Duke’s letter, destroyed the secret document, and presented the other, or, as one version of the story goes, forged a ducal order in his own favour.[12] At any rate, the castle was placed in his hands; and affecting to know nothing of the Duke’s intended treachery, Il Medeghino took possession of it as a trusted servant of the ducal crown.

As soon as he was settled in his castle, the freebooter devoted all his energies to rendering it still more impregnable by strengthening the walls and breaking the cliffs into more horrid precipices.  In this work he was assisted by his numerous friends and followers; for Musso rapidly became, like ancient Rome, an asylum for the ruffians and outlaws of neighbouring provinces.  It is even said that his sisters, Clarina and Margherita, rendered efficient aid with manual labour.  The mention of Clarina’s name justifies a parenthetical side-glance at Il Medeghino’s pedigree, which will serve to illustrate the exceptional conditions of Italian society during this age.  She was married to the Count Giberto Borromeo, and became the mother of the pious Carlo Borromeo, whose shrine is still adored at Milan in the Duomo.  Il Medeghino’s brother, Giovan Angelo, rose to the Papacy, assuming the title of Pius IV.  Thus this murderous marauder