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The Princes of Acaja, lords of Pinerolo, built the Castle of Osasco to defend their borders from constant threats by neighboring states and the French. Designed as a fortress, it featured massive walls, four watchtowers, Chemins de Ronde, and a moat with a drawbridge. Over the centuries, the castle endured numerous wars and sieges until peace came with the unification of Piedmont under the House of Savoy. During this time, the south façade and west wing were frescoed, and the interiors were expanded with grand salons, loggias, and a porch. Architect Benedetto Alfieri also created a majestic park, complete with an imposing entrance arch and now-century-old trees.
The Cacherano family, originally prominent bankers from Asti, received the fief from Duke Amadeus VII of Savoy and have retained ownership of the castle almost continuously, also holding the castles of Bricherasio and Envie. Today, guided tours lead visitors through the Italian gardens, the castle’s interiors, and the park, recounting the history of the estate and the lives of those who shaped it.
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.