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Serralunga d'Alba Castle is a castle located in Piedmont, Italy. Originally, in the 12th century, the site was occupied by a watchtower belonging to the local lords, descendants of Bonifacio del Vasto. After the fief passed to Manfredo of Saluzzo in 1190, the Falletti family of Barolo acquired it in and decided to demolish the pre-existing tower in 1340 to build the current castle under Pietrino and his son Goffredo II. Unlike many other fortresses, the building underwent very few modifications over the centuries, preserving its original medieval structure.
Purchased by the state in 1949, the castle underwent major restoration work to ensure its preservation. Since 2015, it has been managed by the Regional Directorate of Museums of Piedmont, which oversees its promotion and public access.
The castle is considered one of the best-preserved examples of a 14th-century noble castle in Piedmont. It stands in a commanding hilltop position overlooking the village of Serralunga d'Alba and the vineyards of the Langhe.
A unique example of a French-style donjon in Italy, the castle consists of several architecturally significant parts. The Palacium, an imposing elongated structure with large overlapping halls, is flanked by a cylindrical tower, a square tower, and a chapel decorated with 15th-century frescoes depicting the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
References: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.