Serralunga d'Alba Castle (Italy)

Slender and majestic, an indelible symbol of this landscape, it dominates one of the most beautiful and intact villages of the Langhe, surrounded by the hills of great wines. It is considered one of the best preserved examples of a fourteenth-century noble castle in Piedmont, and represents a unique case in Italy for its architectural structure, typical of a French donjon.

Already in the 12th century a tower overlooked and defended the village. In 1340 Pietrino Falletti received the feud as a reward for his military commitment, demolishing the tower and erecting the castle. The construction of the building was to be completed in 1357, to which a document dating back to a sale in one of its rooms dates back to February.

The circumstances of not having been the object of important military events and of never having been transformed for residential purposes have handed him over unchanged in his original structure of medieval stronghold. More than a military role, however, the castle has played a role of controlling the productive activities of the territory over the centuries, as evidenced by its bold verticality, aimed at emphasizing the prestige of the Falletti family.

The castle already at the end of the fourteenth century presents the palacium, a compact and elongated main building, consisting of large overlapping rooms; a cylindrical tower and a hanging tower for the purpose of sighting and function of status symbol; a tower with a square base; the court with the drawbridge. In the palacium, near the large room at court level, serving as a public hall for the administration of justice, there is also a small chapel with a barrel vault and frescoes dating from the mid-fifteenth century. Depicting the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Some large fireplaces and wooden ceilings are the only remaining evidence of the original furnishings. On the top floor, the walkway developed, initially open and protected by battlements, then covered by the roof.

From the windows of the third floor the view is spectacular, 360 degrees over the Langhe, up to the Alpine arc.

Since 1949 the castle has belonged to the State, which bought it from the Opera Pia Barolo, the institution established by the testamentary will of the Marchesa Giulia di Barolo, the last heir of the Falletti family. Between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century the care of the castle by the Opera Pia was subordinated to the attention for the productive performances of the farms of the territory: in these years the castle has hosted cellars, dyes and deposits of agricultural products.

With the state acquisition, the first major restoration works were started. Since 2015, the castle has been delivered to the Piedmont Museums. The management is currently entrusted to the Barolo & Castles Foundation, which has been awarded the contract issued by the Pole.