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Manta Castle is a medieval fortress located on the hills of Manta, in the province of Cuneo, Italy. Since 1984, it has been managed by the Italian Heritage Trust (FAI) and is included in the “Castelli Aperti” network of Piedmont.
Originally built in the 12th century, the castle was transformed into a noble residence in the early 1400s by the Saluzzo della Manta family. After their lineage ended in the late 18th century, the castle fell into disrepair until restoration work began following its donation to FAI.
The castle is known for its exceptional 15th-century frescoes in the Baronial Hall, painted around 1420, which depict legendary figures such as Hector, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and King Arthur, as well as the mythical Fountain of Youth. These works are among the rare surviving examples of courtly medieval art and were inspired by the poem Le Chevalier Errant by Thomas III of Saluzzo.
Another notable artwork is the “Madonna del Latte,” a small 15th-century fresco showing the Virgin Mary nursing the infant Jesus. The castle also features the richly decorated Grotesque Hall, commissioned around 1560 by Michele Antonio della Manta, with Renaissance-inspired painted ceilings and stucco work.
Attached to the castle is the Church of Santa Maria al Castello, where visitors can see frescoes from the same period as the Baronial Hall, depicting scenes from the life of Christ. The church also contains a funerary chapel with mannerist-style decoration from the late Renaissance.
The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.