Castello di Moncrivello, Castle and historical park museum in Moncrivello, Italy.
Castello di Moncrivello is a castle in Moncrivello, Piedmont, built around a large quadrangular tower with terracotta-decorated windows and machicolations, crossed by a carriage passage into the courtyard. Iolanda of France turned the stronghold into a noble residence, adding swallowtail-merloned walls, a spiral staircase, coffered ceilings and terracotta fireplaces.
In the 13th century Moncrivello already had a fortified rocca, sold to the commune of Vercelli but still under the jurisdiction of the Vercelli diocese. In 1399, after a brief and unpopular rule by Antonio Fieschi that provoked an uprising of the villagers, jurisdiction passed to the Savoys under Amedeo VIII. The great quadrangular tower with terracotta-decorated windows and machicolations survives from that military phase. Iolanda of France, wife of Amedeo IX, turned the stronghold into a noble residence, where she died in 1478; after passing to the Del Carretto in 1692, a devastating fire began a long decline until private reconstruction in 1972.
The castle's story is tied to the noblewomen who married the Dukes of Savoy: Iolanda of France made it her favourite residence and died here in 1478, and the wedding of Carlo I of Savoy and Bianca of Monferrato was celebrated within its walls in 1472. Today it is a private residence used for cultural initiatives, events and private ceremonies, opened occasionally on request.
The castle is a private residence in Moncrivello, in the province of Vercelli, and opens to the public only occasionally, by request and subject to the owners' availability. Visits should therefore be arranged in advance with the property rather than expected on arrival.
The castle's 15th-century remodelling by Yolande of France left swallowtail merlons on the outer walls, a helical staircase, coffered ceilings and terracotta fireplaces inside. After a devastating fire it lay in decay until private owners rebuilt it in 1972; it is now a private residence opened only occasionally on request.
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