A castle much loved by filmmakers, the Castello Ducale was the location chosen for the fiction ‘Elisa di Rivombrosa’.
It suffered damage from a siege and sacking in 1536. Filippo di Agliè, minister to Maria Cristina, the regent Madama Reale, oversaw its reconstruction, until it was again ravaged by French soldiers.
In 1764 it passed to the House of Savoy and was given in appanage to the Duke of Chiablese, who improved and enlarged it to the designs of the architect Birago di Borgaro. It then passed to the Dukes of Genoa, whose favourite residence it was. It is said that all the princes of the House of Savoy-Genoa still living today were born there. It is currently state property, under the care of the Superintendence of Monuments for Piedmont. It is a brick building not raised above the level on which the village stands, but emerging at the bottom of it.
Over the centuries, the park has taken on different aspects that can only partly be found in its present conformation. The current layout is the result of two different phases: the first of the 18th century to which the fountain exedra with sculptural groups representing the Orc, the Malone and the Dora dates back. The second dates from the 19th century and is characterised by an ‘English-style’ park layout. The garden, partly hanging, preserves in the western area the Castellamontian Italian-style layout composed of paths and flowerbeds with hedges.
Castle opening: January to December.
Park opening: May to October.
Opening times Tuesday to Sunday 8.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. Last admission 6.30 p.m.