Castello di Camino

Privately owned building. Special openings, tours, and events are available throughout the year. To stay up-to-date, please visit the link below. The town of Camino originates from ancient Roman and later Germanic settlements. The castle enjoys an important strategic position, dominating the hills of Lower Monferrato and embracing the banks of the Po River and the Vercelli plain. It is a majestic and solemn building, with a tall, turreted and crenellated structure. Precisely because of this strategic position, a defensive structure was built on Camino hill around the year 1000, expanded and fortified over time and still active in the 17th century. Today, Camino Castle, despite numerous internal and external renovations, is still one of the most important fortresses in the Alessandria area. Construction of the castle, a true medieval fortress in its architectural volumes, began at the behest of the Bishop of Asti. However, the most significant investiture for the fortress's construction occurred in the 14th century, when Marquis Teodoro Paleologo, facing serious financial difficulties, granted the investiture of Camino to the Scarampi brothers, bankers from Asti. The family has held the castle's feudal lords continuously, and the complex's military and architectural history is closely linked to them, with a series of significant interventions dating to three periods: the late 14th, 17th, and 18th centuries, and the decades between the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest part of the structure is the section that includes the imposing crenellated tower, an unusual rectangular plan, 44 meters high. A drawbridge was inserted into the lower part of the building. Around this original core and using existing storage areas, the Scarampi brothers built an imposing castle by the 14th century. The structure has an irregular plan due to the various adjacent buildings and the natural undulation of the terrain. The location and fortified structure made it a powerful castle with excellent defensive capabilities, but between the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Camino Castle also lost its military significance. The grand staircase was opened and, most importantly, the hall was built, decorated with faux architecture and floral arrangements, opening to a south-facing stone balcony in Baroque style. Stucco work frames the 22 oil paintings by Domenico Guala, dedicated to 22 members of the Scarampi family. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the castle underwent further renovations to its interior decoration and furnishings, giving it a neo-Gothic style. The very ancient chapel was reduced and redecorated; it preserves a triptych attributed to Macrino d'Alba. To accommodate Vittorio Emanuele II, a room on the first floor was completely refurnished and redecorated, hence the name "King's Hall." The privately owned Camino Castle is open to meetings and receptions and is surrounded by a large, picturesque park with centuries-old trees. * * * * * * *