Alba –Monticello Castle
The castle of Monticello d’Alba (Cuneo) shows a great scenery in one of the most impressive medieval buildings in the area.
It is worth a visit, even for the interesting history of this building.
Located a few kilometres from Alba, in the centre of one of Piedmont food and wine area, that of Monticello is one of the most impressive and best preserved medieval buildings in the area, thanks also to the fact that from 1372 to today it is owned by the same family, the Roero di Monticello who made it their residence.
The Castle of Monticello was builat the behest of the Bishops of Asti to defend the borders of the countryside, after the devastating descent of the Saracens in Alba in 920 AC. It was obviously not the construction that we see today; in fact it was seriously damaged in 1187 during a siege extended for almost three years and rebuilt in 1348, when the fief of Monticello passed to the Malabailas.
In 1372, however, the Monticellesi, exasperated by the oppression of their Lords, asked help to the Counts Roero or Rotarii who, expelled the Malabailas, received the territories of Monticello and Castagnito as a reward from the Bishop.
Radical restorations were made in the castle in 1787 on the occasion of the marriage of Francesco Gennaro, Viceroy of Sardinia, with Paola del Carretto di Gorzegno, without however altering the medieval structure outside. The works then involved the interiors, transforming the castle into a pleasant and elegant country residence. Part of the defensive elements were eliminated, replacing the drawbridge with a stone staircase and filling the ditches and inside there were new pictorial decorations according to the 18th century style.
In 1827 Xaverio Kurten, author of the transformations of the Racconigi Royal Park, designed the English park that extends all around the hill.
Rightly referred to as “a typical example of a fortified residence”, Monticello can boast a very unique architectural peculiarity: the presence of three towers and each with different plan and dimensions; a square tower, a round tower, and the last octagonal.
The Castle develops on three floors on which stands the patrol passage equipped with Ghibelline battlements and drains.
Monticello d’Alba (CN) – Via San Ponzio 2