Piemonte Italia

Castello Reale di Valcasotto

The old chartreuse, built in the 12th century in the high part of the Tanaro valley, in an isolated location perfectly suited to prayer and meditation, was composed of two parts (the superior part, including the church and the guest rooms, and the inferior part, including outbuildings and barns); following a series of fires and restoration works, the church was finally transformed thanks to architect Bernardo Vittone, who designed the grand dome and the façade in green stone. The Napoleonic suppression of religious orders caused the dismantling of the ecclesiastical buildings, then acquired by King Carlo Alberto in 1837, with the aim of turning it into his summer residence and hunting resort. The work of architect Carlo Sada on the Carthusian church, destined to become a royal chapel, and redesigned with a symmetrical floor plan, erased all remaining traces of the Victorian plan. Used as a hunting reserve especially by Vittorio Emanuele II, Valcasotto castle constrasts the original sumptuosness of its monumental exteriors and of the church with the simplicity and rigour of the interiors, furnished in an understated way and almost in a bourgeois taste, highlighting the private use of the apartments. The building, which is currently being restored, is part of a touristic network connecting the Pamparato and Mondovì valleys to the spas of Lurisia and Vinadio.