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La Castiglia was the fortified residence of the Marquises of Saluzzo, who ruled the region from 1175 to 1548. Strategically located between France and the Duchy of Savoy, it played a key role in the struggle for control over Piedmont. Built between 1271 and 1286 by Marquis Tommaso I, the fortress replaced an older castle and was expanded over time to include towers, ramparts, and a moat.
In the 15th century, it was transformed into a noble residence under Marquis Tommaso III. Later, Ludovico II added the large circular tower in honor of his French wife, Margaret of Foix. After the fall of the Saluzzo dynasty in 1548, the castle was used by the French, then the Savoyards, serving various roles including military base, residence, hospital, and eventually a prison until 1992.
Restoration began in the 2000s, and today La Castiglia houses museums and cultural spaces. Highlights include the Museum of Chivalric Civilization, exploring the history of the marquisate, and the Prison Memory Museum, located in the old prison cells. A contemporary art collection (IGAV) is also on display.
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.