Castiglia was a favourite fortified residence of the family of the Marquis of Saluzzo (CN). Located in the highest point of the town, it protected the privacy of the ruling family and ensured its control of the surrounding territory.
Over the centuries, the castle radically expanded: four towers were added and it was encircled by a wide moat with drawbridge. In the 15th century, the fortress was converted into a noble residence befitting the family dynasty. In 1492, Ludovico II of Saluzzo ordered the construction of the massive, round central tower which survives to this day and frescoed the reception rooms.
When the ruling dynasty became extinct, the fortress went into a period of unstoppable decline that lasted to the present day. It was used as a French military barracks, a convalescent home and, later, a prison. In 2002, the State ceded use of it to the Municipality of Saluzzo and, following restoration work that began in 2006, the complex has been opened to the public with most of its spaces used for exhibitions, displays and cultural and tourism related events.
The IGAV permanent collection of contemporary art is on the ground floor while the Museo della Civiltà Cavalleresca, on the third floor, narrates the equine history of the Marquisate of Saluzzo from 1100 to 1500. Since the closure of the prison in 1992, the building has also housed the Museo della Memoria Carceraria in the basement of the former penitentiary.
Film Commission Torino Piemonte
Via Cagliari 42 — 10153 Torino
Phone: +39 011 2379201
Fax: +39 011 2379298
Email: info@fctp.it
