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This castle is a genuine royal palace, with acres of floor space, over 100 rooms, and some 6,000 spectacular pieces of antique furniture.
It has been the family home of the Valperga di Masino clan since the tenth century; but in 1988 the last scion of the family-Count Luigi Valperga di Masino-decided to sell the castle. Italian auto company FIAT and a major bank funded the purchase (about 1 million dollars) and our adventure began; to date, we have raised and spent over 10 million dollars to restore this hilltop "white elephant," on the top of a hill, 30 miles from Turin, overlooking the Alps.
It is a majestic home on a truly palatial scale. Every room in the castle is decorated with magnificent seventeenth- and eighteenthcentury frescoes, all awaiting restoration, like those in the tower ballroom.
The castle also boasts a fabulous library, with more than 20,000 volumes dating back to between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries: sadly, these books have suffered from the damp and dust of the centuries, and also await restoration.
The interiors document the vicissitudes of a family that was one of the protagonists in the history of Piedmont and Italy itself.
The nearby Palazzo delle Carrozze boasts a superb collection of coaches of the XVIII and XIX centuries |
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(Ph. © Giorgio Majno) |
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Maria Giovanna Battista di Savoia, regent for here son Vittorio Amedeo II from 1675, was often a guest of Francesco I Masino who prepared the small "Madama Reale" apartment for her in the castle. The antechamber and the bed chamber were refurnished around the mid-1700s and lined with precious "papiers peints" in the Chinese style similar to those chosen by the Savoia for Agliè and Racconigi castles. The pompous baldachin bed, the armchairs and the curtains still today retain the precious, rare and very fragile "chiné" silk dating from around the 1870s.
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 (Ph. © Giorgio Majno) |
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Dominated by the huge 1800s billiards table with its fine cue-holders and scoreboard set off by a series of games played to pass pleasant hours of "villa life", the billiards hall as frescoed around the mid-1600s with a taste that, even in terms of colour and subjects, recalls the mannerist culture. Huge medallions depicting famous battles alternate with allegorical figures of the virtues in the form of caryatids; beneath the medallions, pairs of slaves with exotic features and appearances hold shields with the "deeds" of the Valperga family, whose large coat-of-arms dominates the ceiling.
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(Ph. © Mario Govino) |
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The ballroom in the large, round keep is one of the most fascinating settings in the castle, thanks to the light through the large windows overlooking the green park, the broad, Arcadian landscapes frescoed around 1730 creating illusions with the fluttering curtains and the dome alternating pillars and open windows. The very high ceiling has a huge chandelier in Bohemian crystal. The rather limited furniture includes: the fine 1700s benches and the small Lombard gaming tables in the Maggiolini style. |
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(Ph. © Giorgio Majno) |
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The settings in the more than thirty monumental rooms in castle are still today the result of the "sedimentation" of cultural testimony and taste over the centuries: an exceptional example for such a residence today open to the public. The red salon - with its damasks, collection of miniatures, 1600s portraits of "fine ladies" in the splendid oval cornices, comfortable yet sooty velvet armchairs around a small reproduction table, the pompous consoles and superb porcelainis one of the most evident examples of the atmosphere found and conserved by FAI at Masino. |
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(Ph. © Archivio FAI) |
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Like the Castle, the park underwent many changes over the centuries. In the XVIII century, the gardens surrounding the castle in the south-east and west areas were designed according to a classical geometric pattern that combined the style of the Italian Renaissance Gardens to the decorative embellishments of the French Gardens.
The current layout is derived from the English arrangement dating back to the first half of the XIX century, which led to the creation of the "road of the 22 lapses" which goes through the woods towards Strambino. |
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(Ph. © Archivio FAI) |
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The Restaurant is located within the park of the Castle. It can accommodate 50 people indoors and about 100 people outdoors during the summer.
Booking is required for groups and ceremonies, where you can choose among traditional menus, Canavesiani or special dishes for the most important occasions.
Catering service available /
Regional cuisine with a la carte menu / Open at lunchtime; booking is required for evening dinners / Closed on Mondays / Holidays: from 20/12 to 31/01 / The staff speaks English, French and Spanish / Big parking area / Owner/Chef: Graziella Presbitero / Prices: ranging from 16 to 30 euros.
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MASINO CASTLE, Caravino (Turin)
FAI MANAGEMENT & OFFICES - Properties Office
Ph. +39 0125 778100 / Fax +39 0125 778551 / E-mail: faimasino@fondoambiente.it
Opening Times
MARCH-SEPTEMBER: 10 am - 6 pm /
OCTOBER, NOVEMBER and second half of FEBRUARY: 10 am - 5 pm
CLOSING DAYS: Mondays (unless public holidays) /
SCHOOL: guided or animated visits against prior booking
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GUIDED TOURS: require booking (max. 50 people)
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LAST ENTRANCE: half an hour before closing.
FURTHER INFORMATION >>
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