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Asti Cathedral is one of the largest churches in Piedmont, the highest expression of Gothic architecture of the region, and among the best examples of Lombard Romanesque appreciable in northern Italy.
It is likely that the first construction of the cathedral started around the fifth or sixth century, and tradition has it that it replaced series of earlier buildings including a primitive church built on the crypt of the martyred saint, Secundus of Asti. Among other of these buildings still apparent is St. John's Church, used today for baptisms. Around 1070, the building collapsed, partly as a result of a fire that set by Adelaide of Susa in her dispute with the bishops. In 1095 the rebuilt cathedral was consecrated by Pope Urban II to preach the First Crusade.
The bell tower was rebuilt starting in 1266 by the magister Murator Jacopo Ghigo consisting of seven floors, plus an octagonal spire, and it is visible in Theatrum Statuum Sabaudiae, a tome which was the result of an ambitious project undertaken by Duke Charles Emmanuel II in the 1660s consisting of two large volumes completed and printed 1682 in Amsterdam, by publisher and cartographer Joan Blaeu. It is a collection of images of places and buildings under the dominion of Savoy in the late seventeenth century which at the time included Savoie, Nice, Piedmont, Aosta Valley, and Liguria.
References:The Château de Chantilly comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency, and the Grand Château, which was destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s. Owned by the Institut de France, the château houses the Musée Condé. It is one of the finest art galleries in France and is open to the public.
The estate"s connection with the Montmorency family began in 1484. The first mansion (now replaced by the Grand Château) was built in 1528–1531 for the Constable Anne de Montmorency by Pierre Chambiges. The Petit Château was also built for him, around 1560, probably by Jean Bullant. In 1632, after the death of Henri II, it passed to the Grand Condé who inherited it through his mother, Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency.
Several interesting pieces of history are associated with the château during the 17th century.