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Malingri Castle is in Bagnolo (CN), a village of medieval origins, originally built on the hill. In 1500, by order of the Royal House of Savoy, the town was rebuilt downstream, in its current position, while the castle underwent important transformations, eventually becoming the residence the Malingri Counts and thus acquiring the name of “Palazzo Malingri”.

During the Renaissance, it was enriched with splendid frescoes on the southern facade, eventually brought back to light in 1994 after a thorough restoration by Antonio Rava.
On the same facade, framed by a Gothic aedicule, there is a very sweet portray of “Madonna and Child” attributed to Jacopino Longo, a pupil of Macrino d’Alba, dating back to ca. 1530.

Since 2008, due to the death of the last farmer in the area, the court has lost its agricultural vocation which used to be vital to the economy and well-being of the whole fief.

Through a small door, visitors can enter the large XVII century park: built in a formal style, with green and flowery design and geometries, boxwood, hornbeam and yew hedges, it was renovated at the beginning of the XIX century, this time according to the romantic style of that time.

The park, entirely surrounded by walls, covers about 5 acres and is full of very tall trees (130-165 feet high), including Pinus nigra, Cedrius deodara, Taxus baccata, metasequoias, beeches, oaks, Libocedrus, Criptomeria japonica, bamboo groves, and collections of flowering acidophilic shrubs, such as rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, and hydrangeas.

In the centre of the meadow facing the valley, there’s an elliptical stone basin called the “fountain of the green man”: it houses newts, small fish and water lilies.
There are ancient chapels, as the noble chapel of All Saints, deer-feeding structures, and the round tower called “casa del bau”.

The park is included in the “Grandi Giardini Italiani” circuit and, along with its interior, can be visited by appointment.

Castello di Bagnolo, as it is called today, is also a winery, producer of high quality rose wines: “Malingro”, for example, is produced with 100% Dolcetto grapes and features an intense ruby red colour, a taste of red fruits and dried flowers, with a high content of tannins. Then, there’s “Arbi”, a purely vinified Merlot, ruby red with violet reflections, featuring balanced spiciness that does not hide the natural hints of fruit and flowers – “Arbi” is the actual name of chestnut wood containers for the grapes in the local dialect.
Last but not least, this winery produces “Set” (which means “seven”), purplish-red in colour, simple, but with hints of small red fruits. This wine comes from a vineyard growing at 1.312 ft above sea level, which features seven varieties of grapes, many of which rare and indigenous, over seventy years old.

The castle can be rented for weddings or private functions and includes the farmhouse “Cascine di Bagnolo).

Photo source: official website

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)