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The castle of Monticello is one of the most impressive and best-preserved medieval buildings a few miles from Alba, at an altitude of 1.312 ft. Probably built on a previous stronghold, it became the residence of the Roero di Monticello family in 1376.

During the XV century, battlements, towers and defensive structures were added; at the beginning of the XVII century, some changes were made to the interiors and then a double staircase was added around the circular tower; the latter was then demolished; the defensive systems were also eliminated and the moat was filled to house a part of the current garden, while the hill was terraced to set up hanging gardens that have now unfortunately disappeared.

The castle thus acquired the appearance of a pleasant XVIII century country house.
It features three floors with Ghibelline battlements on the top; a stone staircase leads to “Sala delle Armi,” and the collection of historical weapons, as well as to the Chapel dedicated to Saint Barbara. On the first floor, there are large rectangular windows, which have partially changed the original appearance of the facade. On the second floor, there is the Gallery of Diana the Huntress, frescoed by the Galliari brothers: a typical example of the XVIII local craftmanship; then, there’s “Sala dei Quadri” with the portraits of the Roero family and, on the vault, the coats of arms of the wives of the firstborn of the family; eventually, there’s also the “Billiard Room”.
The courtyard, located at the height of the first mezzanine floor, still retains its ancient XIV century structure.

The gardens

The gardens were remodelled by the architect-gardener-engineer Saverio Kurten in 1827: he was the same designer of the Racconigi Castle park and many other similar facilities in Piedmont. Following the English romantic tradition of the first half of the XIX century, Kurten recreated the main features of the surrounding landscape within the very gardens, inserting irregular and winding paths, lakes and viewpoints surrounded by a thick forest and different species of trees and shrubs.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)