Borgomasino Castle () is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

located in

Borgomasino Borgomasino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin. Among the sites are the Parish Church of Santissimo Salvatore designed by Bernardo Vittone image:Gr ...

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 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History

Records attest to existence of the castle as early as the 11th century, when it was built by Guido, Count of Pombia. Located on the border between

Ivrea Ivrea (; ; ; ) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley (part of the medieval Via Francigena), it straddles the Dora Baltea and is ...

and

Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. ...

, the castle served a defensive purpose and was often at the center of conflicts between the two territories. In 1361, Bartolomeo di Masino ceded the village of Borgomasino to Amadeus of Savoy, while retaining control of the castle, which was later fortified due to tensions with the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

. By the late 14th century, the Counts of Masino were enfeoffed and adopted the title Counts of Masino of Borgomasino. The castle, owned by the Counts of Valperga since the 15th century, was damaged by a collapse in 1818. On its ruins, in the 1870s, a noble villa was constructed. The architect Siniscalchi was commissioned by the then mayor of Turin, Count Luigi Valperga di Masino.

Description

Of the ancient castle, the square-plan tower that once overlooked the ''Castrum vetus'', the courtyard of arms, and the nearby rustic buildings still remain. The brick tower features irregular openings and terracotta decorations that adorn the top floor and the edge below the roof. The park in front overlooks the Ivrea canal and offers a scenic view of the nearby Ivrea moraine hill.

References

External links

{{Castles in Canavese Castles in Piedmont Borgomasino