In the Langhe area
Grinzane Cavour
The castle, dates back to the mid-11th century, was bought by the Benso family, the Marquis of Cavour. In September 1832, the Count Camillo Benso arrived in Grinzane to serve as mayor (until 1848) and to administer his agricultural funds. Currently, the property is of Alba and Grinzane. The castle houses the Piedmontese Enoteca Regionale, the Ethnographic Museum, the Cavourian relics, the Sala delle Maschere, the Castello restaurant and is the headquarters of the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo and the wines of Alba and the National Organization of Cheese Tasters. Thanks to the excellent conservation, since 2014 it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Barolo
The Falletti castle dates back to the beginning of the X century, but not much of the original structure remains: the ancient donjon is still visible. After Juliette Colbert’s death, last descendant of the Faletti family, the castle passed under the lead of the Opera Pia of Barolo, which, after many restoration works, transformed it in a college. In 1970 it was bought by the municipality and restored. Currently it hosts the Wine Museum, WI MU and the Enoteca Regionale del Barolo, in the ancient cellars.
Serralunga d’Alba
The majestic castle of Serralunga is a unique case in Italy for its architectural structure, typical of a French donjon. Not having been the object of important military events and never having been transformed for residential purposes, It has been preserved almost unchanged in its original medieval stronghold. From the windows of the third floor the view is really spectacular, from the Langhe, up to the Alpine arch. The management is currently entrusted to the Barolo & Castles Foundation.
Roddi
The castle of Roddi, whose first structures date back to the 11th century, stands on top of the hill of the homonymous village and is composed of a rectangular central body of 3 floors above ground joined to two towers, one square, lower, and one circular, higher. At the foot of the castle, in what were the stables, in 2015 Terra was born, the International White Truffle School of Alba, where it is possible to participate in cooking classes and learn the typical dishes of the territory.
Mango
The Busca family’s castle is a seventeenth-century reconstruction of the old medieval fortress that was destroyed. The elegance of the forms, the decorative use of sandstone, the impetus of the inner colonnade make it a rare example of a late Renaissance castle in the Langhe. Inside is the Moscato Regional Enoteca.
Nel Roero
Guarene
This castle is located in the heart of the Roero and its balcony dominates over 60 kilometres of UNESCO territory. In the eighteenth century it was the realisation of a dream by Carlo Giacinto Roero, lord of Guarene, who wanted a new and splendid home and built it, surrounding it with gardens and furnishing it. Today the castle has remained intact with all its works of art and has also become a high-class hotel, an important stop on the Piedmontese Baroque itinerary.
Magliano Alfieri
This manor houses two museums: the museo dei Soffitti in Gesso and the Teatro del paesaggio Langhe and Roero Museum. Built around the middle of the ‘600, it is characterized by two aspects, one austere, with compact buildings, the other that recalls the refined Baroque decorative elegance.
Govone
The current Baroque palace, bordered by a garden and a vast English park is the one built by the Solaro counts and restored in the 1820s by the will of the Savoy. The precious monument, now a testimony of Piedmontese court life in the early nineteenth century, was one of Carlo Felice di Savoy’s favourite summer residences. It currently houses the town hall of Govone and is an exhibition space for exhibitions and events. The park can always be visited and in the different seasons of the year, nature collars it with a thousand nuances: from those of the plane trees, horse chestnuts and ancient oaks to the regal carpet of periwinkles and tulips.
Monteu Roero
The Castle positioned high up on the top of a steep hill, as well as ensuring a splendid view of the Roero, guaranteed strategic supremacy, the safety of the fortress and its inhabitants. In 2012 the Berta family (from the “Berta Distillerie”) purchased the Castle, deciding to use it as a museum, thus creating the Museum of the ancient art of distillation.
Monticello
The Castle positioned high up on the top of a steep hill, as well as ensuring a splendid view of the Roero, guaranteed strategic supremacy, the safety of the fortress and its inhabitants. In 2012 the Berta family (from the “Berta Distillerie”) purchased the Castle, deciding to use it as a museum, thus creating the Museum of the ancient art of distillation.
Sanfrè
From the garden you can enjoy a wide view of the Cuneo plain and the Alps. Inside you can visit the living room where the Isnardi hosted the Dukes of Savoy with alcove, stuccoes and frescoes from the end of the 1500s in good condition and some living rooms on the ground floor of the sixteenth century wing.