Castello di Barolo

3D Model

The history of the castle is believed to have begun in the 10th century, when Berengar I allowed the local feudal lord to erect an effective defense against the frequent raids of the Hungarians and Saracens. Very little remains of that original structure: the keep, still visible today, is part of it. The first written testimony dates back to the 1200s in a deed of transfer of property by the Lords of Marcenasco in favor of the municipality of Alba, who, a few years later, sold it to the Falletti family who significantly renovated it and made it the permanent home of a branch of the house. In 1544, however, it was sacked by the French governor of nearby Cherasco, during the long wars of the time. It was subsequently up to Giacomo and Manfredo to repair the significant damage, making further improvements. The new one, the result of sixteenth-century restorations, remained substantially unchanged until 1864, the year of the death of Juliette Colbert, the last Marchioness Falletti.