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The Castle of San Sebastiano da Po dates back to the Middle Ages (X century), when the town was part of the fiefdom belonging to the Marquis of Monferrato.

After centuries of intricate history, wars and struggles for power, in 1761 Paolo Federico Novarina, the Count of San Sebastiano, contracted the architect Bernardo Vittone to renovate the entire complex; the latter thus became a favourite destination for several important guests like Napoleon I: in his honour, a maidenhair tree was planted and it is still visible today.

Camillo Benso di Cavour and Pietro Bagetti, a renowned local painter and architect also stayed at this castle: Bagetti, in particular, who embellished its gallery with a series of highly-praised frescoes.
A most peculiar area is the special storage room for the grapes harvested in the nearby vineyards; the production of wine was, in fact, a great asset for the local economy.

The Park

In 1810, Xavier Kurten, a garden architect of German origins, designed the park, which later became a study and research facility for the University of Botany of Turin.

The park, which in the course of history has hosted up to 3.000 species of plants and flowers, includes an Italian garden with a beautiful parterre of box trees (Buxus sempervirens) and roses (Rosa spp.).
Today, an orchard reminds us of the original pomarium of the Middle Ages, and a greenhouse next to a neoclassical temple.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)