Medieval castles in Piedmont
Ivrea Castle
Ivrea Castle was built on behalf of Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy, in 1358. Ivrea was built to signify the dominance of the House of Savoy over the region. The castle has four towers erected on a plan flank. It is located next to a cathedral and a bishop"s palace. The castle is mentioned in the work of Giosuè Carducci. The most significant changes were recorded at the end of the 18th century, when the castle was trans ...
Founded: 1358 |
Location:
Ivrea, Italy
Masino Castle
For more than a thousand years, Masino Castle has overlooked the immense Canavese plain from high ground in front of the evocative morainic barrier of the Serra di Ivrea – an intact and seemingly endless landscape. The strategic location of the castle resulted in it being frequently attacked, but the noble Valperga dynasty, whom, legend has it, are descended from Arduin of Ivrea, the first King of Italy, retained owners ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Via del Castello, Italy
Castello Contessa Adelaide
From high up on the rock of Susa, this castle has witnessed millennia of history. In 1046, Countess Adelaïde received here her husband Otto, Count of Savoy, bringing him the dowry of the marquisate of Susa and the county of Torino. The Castle was presumed to be built in the Middle Ages, this also explains the presence of mullioned windows on the walls, a typical element of that era. Over the years he underwent several r ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Susa, Italy
Casale Monferrato Castle
Giovanni II Paleologo, Marquis of Monferrato, ordered to build the current castle in Casale Monferrato and the work continued until 1357. When Casale assumed the role of capital of Monferrato"s marquisate and obtained in 1474 the title of city, also the castle, seat of the court, changed its aspect following the restoration with the Marquises Guglielmo VIII (1464-1483) and Bonifacio V (1483-1494). When Giovanni II P ...
Founded: 1357 |
Location:
Casale Monferrato, Italy
Fort of Exilles
The Exilles Fort (Forte di Exilles) is a fortified complex in the Susa Valley. Together with the nearby Fort of Fenestrelle and the Forte Albertino it was part of the defensive line between the House of Savoy lands and France: both these states held it in different phases depending on the outcome of the various wars. It is located on a spur commanding one of the narrowest sections of the Susa Valley, along the main road c ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Susa, Italy
Pavone Castle
Pavone Castle was originally built between the 9th and the 11th century. At the beginning of the 13th century, the castle went to the Romano family and, several years later, Oberto, the new bishop of Ivrea, got it back. In the 14th century, its first and major reconstruction took place. In the 15th century, the castle was abandoned, but, at the end of the century, Bishop Bonifacio Ferrero gave the go-ahead for new reconst ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Pavone Canavese, Italy
Acqui Terme Castle
The Palaeologi Castle in Acqui Terme was mentioned for the first time in 1056. It was rebuilt in the 15th century by Marquis William VII of Montferrat. Acqui Terme’s Archaeological Museum is housed inside the castle. The exhibition is divided into three sections (dedicated respectively to prehistory: from Palaeolithic to Neolithic, to the Bronze and Iron Ages, to the Roman period and finally the Middle Ages), with a to ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Acqui Terme, Italy
Rivalta di Torino Castle
Rivalta di Torino is home to a medieval castle, around which the town originated starting from the 11th century. The castle was destroyed in 1229 and rebuilt after that. The castle and the village were owned by the Orsini local branch until 1823. The castle has a massive appearance and was once accessed through a drawbridge, now replaced by a stone one.
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Rivalta di Torino, Italy
Avigliana Castle
The old town of Avigliana is one of the most significant in Piedmont, for its medieval architecture and its churches. The castle was probably built in 942 by the Marqueses Arduinici of Turin (it was probably Arduino the Hairless who built the first settlement of Castrum Avilianae) on the top of Mount Pezzulano. This castle was used by the Counts of Savoy at least from 1137. In 1691, after conquering it, the French Marshal ...
Founded: 942 AD |
Location:
Avigliana, Italy
Bardassano Castle
Bardassano Castle was built in the 11-13th centuries and is well-preserved. For long time it was transformed in prison from the Chieri Council after demanding the ownership after arguments between aristocratic families. The massive main building is built of brick and has corner towers. The terraces were made in the 17th century.
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Gassino Torinese, Italy
Borello Castle
Borello Castle was probably built in the 13th century and documented first time in the 15th century. It was originally built by Borello family, but later was in hands of Aschierie, Bartolomei ja Rotari di Susa families. The square form castle ruins remain.
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Bussoleno, Italy
Gabiano Castle
The imposing Castle of Gabiano, one of the largest and oldest in the Monferrato area, stands in a dominant position on the Po valley. Always a place of important economic and strategic importance, the manor has been the protagonist of sieges and wars. The first historical documents regarding the castle date back to the seventh century. In 1164 Frederick I granted the feudal investiture to William II of Monferrato. The fie ...
Founded: 8th century AD |
Location:
Gabiano, Italy
Uviglie Castle
The first certain traces of Uviglie Castle can be found in a document dated in 1322. In this text the marquis of Monferrato Teodoro I granted the Pocaparte family a license to build their own fortified residence. The construction of the round tower and the wall supporting the roof garden adjacent the present park goes back to that period. On February 1495 Giovanni Antonio Pico, who was from an old noble family from Casal ...
Founded: 1322 |
Location:
Rosignano Monferrato, Italy
Malgrà Castle
The imposing outline of the Castle of Malgrà has been marking the outline of the town of Rivarolo since 1333, the year in which the Counts of San Martino began its construction. Built as a military presidium, it then became a welcoming noble mansion thanks to a series of important structural and decorative interventions, made possible by the peacetime which began in the 14th century. The building originally included two ...
Founded: 1333 |
Location:
Rivarolo Canavese, Italy
Rocca di Verrua
The Fortress of Verrua Savoia dates back to the 10th and 11th centuries. During the wars the fortress was destroyed and rebuilt several times. Currently, only the Dungeon and the Ponte del Soccorso remained of the fortress. Prior to the French siege of 1704 the defence consisted of an enclosure wall and 4 bastions. The main part of the fortress consisted of the keep, barracks and of a well.
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Verrua Savoia, Italy
San Giorio di Susa Castle
San Giorio di Susa Castle was built probably in the mid-13th century. The complex is divided in the upper and lower castle. Today it is ruined but tower and hall exists.
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
San Giorio di Susa, Italy
Settimo Vittone Castle
Settimo Vittone Castle was built to inthe 9th century to the site of 6th century abbey. The castle was important step for pilgrimages to Rome. The castle was demolished in the 16th century. In the courtyard is a Pieve di San Lorenzo, one of oldest existing Christian chapels in the area. It was probably built in the late 9th century.
Founded: 9th century AD |
Location:
Settimo Vittone, Italy
Montalto Dora Castle
Montalto Dora Castle was built in the first half of the 12th century on top of Monte Crovero reflecting in the waters of Lake Pistono, being first mentioned under the name of castrum monsalti in a document dating from 1140. During the 14th and 15th century, the castle was modified and enlarged to better serve from a defensive viewpoint. In the 19th century, the castle was renovated under the direction of architects Car ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Montalto Dora, Italy
Castello Della Rovere
The Della Rovere Castle dates from 1480 to 1517 by Cardinal Domenico della Rovere and represents a rare example of Renaissance architecture in Piemonte. The magnificent cloister dated 1513/1515, with its terracotta features and the recently discovered 16th century frescoes by the school of Pinturicchio, are particularly significant. In 1776 it becomes the headquarters of the Royal Porcelain Manufactory, strongly backed by ...
Founded: 1480-1517 |
Location:
Vinovo, Italy
Cremolino Castle
Cremolino was the main feud of the Monferrato branch of the Malaspina marquises, lords of the Lunigiana. The castle was built in the late 13th century, around a tower that dates from the year 1000, by Tommaso Malaspina, who inherited the estate from his mother Agnese, the last heir of the Aleramici Del Bosco marquises. When the Malaspina line of Cremolino died out at the end of the 15th century, the castle was enfeoffed ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Cremolino, Italy