The Visconti Castle of Cherasco is a

medieval castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Cherasco Cherasco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

. It was built in the 14th century by

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the fat ...

Lord of Milan The following is a list of rulers of Milan from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna. Before elevation to duchy Until 1259, Milan was a free commune that elect ...

, and partly reconstructed at the beginning of the 20th century.

Location

Cherasco lies on a wedge-shaped plateau, a naturally protected area, where the rivers

Stura di Demonte Stura di Demonte ( la, Stura) is a long river in northwestern Italy (Piedmont). Geography The river is a tributary to the river Tanaro, which is a tributary of the river Po. Its source is in the Alps, near the border with France. It flows thr ...

and

Tanaro The Tanaro (; pms, Tane ; ; la, Tanarus), is a long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of drai ...

meet. The castle is located at the town's border, in a prominent position overlooking the two rivers' confluence.

History

In the 13th century, during the communal era, the local

Commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

strengthened the stronghold that probably already existed on the current castle site. Later, Cherasco entered into the dominions of the

Savoy house The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

. In 1348, the Lord of Milan Luchino Visconti defeated the Savoy and conquered Cherasco. He decided to fortify the city and ordered the construction of a new castle. It had a quadrangular structure with a tower at each corner and a smaller central tower with a drawbridge at the entrance, an arrangement frequent in the

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

dominions. It was entirely constructed with bricks. Among the western Visconti territories, Cherasco played an important part. It appeared twice as a dowry in dynasty marriages: in 1368 when

Violante Visconti Violante (Jolantha) Visconti (1354 – November 1386) was the second of two children of Galeazzo II Visconti, Lord of Milan and Pavia, and Bianca of Savoy. Her father gave to her the provinces of Alba, Mondovì, Kenites, Cherasco, and Demonte as ...

married Lionel Duke of Clarence, and in 1387 when Valentina Visconti married Louis Duke of Orléans. In 1559, following the

Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

, the castle returned to the Savoy house. They used it as a refuge on several occasions, to escape the plague in 1630 and the French in 1706. In 1691,

Victor Amadeus II of Savoy Victor Amadeus II (Vittorio Amedeo Francesco; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of Prince of Piedmont, Duke of Montferrat, Marquis of Saluzzo and Count of Aosta, Moriana and Nice. Louis XIV ...

decided to concentrate the defense of his territories in a few strongholds suitable for the purpose. The castle of Cherasco was not among them. Accordingly, it was deliberately partially blown up to no longer serve as a military fortification. What remained of the ancient castle, reduced to semi-ruin, served as a barracks until 1815, and later as a farmhouse. At the beginning of the 20th century, the castle passed to new owners, who almost wholly refurbished the building's survived parts. They restored the walls with extensive insertions, elevated the towers, and redesigned the interior. The final result was a partly reconstructed castle outside, while inside a residential estate with an Italian style garden.

Today

The castle is privately owned and open only from the outside. The landscape's view beyond the building can nevertheless be glimpsed. It is one of the several historical buildings of Cherasco. PmCherascoB05

References

Sources

External links

e torri d’Italia - Castello Visconteo di Cherasco''

Italia – Castello di Cherasco''
{{Visconti of Milan Castles in Piedmont Cherasco