Agliè (

Piedmontese Piedmontese ( ; autonym: or ; ) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, a region of Northwest Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regarded as an Italian ...

: ''Ajé'') is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

Metropolitan City of Turin The Metropolitan City of Turin (; Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ''sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the prov ...

in the Italian region

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, located about north of

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. Agliè borders the following municipalities: San Martino Canavese,

Torre Canavese Torre Canavese ( Piedmontese: ''La Tor Bèr'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about north of Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cu ...

, Bairo, Vialfrè, Cuceglio, San Giorgio Canavese, and Ozegna.

Main sights

Castello Ducale

Agliè's main attraction is its ''Castello Ducale'', one of the

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy are a group of buildings in Turin and the Metropolitan City of Turin, in Piedmont, northern Italy. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1997. History The House of Savoy is an ancient ro ...

, listed in the

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

s. Dating from the 12th century, it was originally a possession of the counts of San Martino. In the 17th century, it was turned into a rich residence by count Filippo d'Agliè, but was ravaged during the French invasion of 1706. In 1765 it was acquired by

Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy, List of monarchs of Sardinia, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his Victor Amadeus II, father's abdication on 3 September 1730 until his death ...

and sold to his son Benedetto of Savoy who had it radically renewed ten years later, under design by Ignazio Birago di Bòrgaro. Thenceforth it was a summer residence for the

Kings of Sardinia Sardinia is traditionally known to have been initially ruled by the Nuragic civilization, which was followed by Greek colonization, conquest by the Carthagians, Carthaginians, and occupied by the Ancient Rome, Romans for around a thousand years, ...

. It was sold to the Italian state in 1939. It has a monumental façade with two stairs and a fountain; the interior includes 300 rooms, mostly provided with contemporary furniture. The castle is surrounded by large English- and Italian-style gardens. It was used as the location for the Italian series '' Elisa di Rivombrosa'' as Rivombrosa. Other sights include: *Church of ''Santa Marta'', an example of

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

by Costanzo Michela *''Parrocchiale di San Massimo'', annexed to the castle *''Villa Meleto'', a 19th-century countryside residence used by the poet Guido Gozzano *Church of ''San Gaudenzio'', where Gozzano is buried.

References

External links

Statute of the Comune di Agliè

Agliè Online

Castello di Agliè
Canavese Cities and towns in Piedmont {{Turin-geo-stub