R.’s CASTLE

The story of R.’s castle is a story worthy of a novel.

We are in a small town in Piedmont and in 1170, in what is now the center of the town, a fabulous castle was built by Alberto di R.
This castle was protected by wide and deep moats which were used to defend against enemies.
Over the years, however, it first became a stately home and then a center of agricultural and economic activities in the area.

But this is not our our castle!
However, its history is strongly linked to what will be built about 800 years later.

As happens even in the best families, even in this story there are quarrels and small revenge.

The time has come to introduce Count Luigi.

Luigi was deeply in love with rich Caroline, daughter of an English shipowner, and was determined to offer him a luxurious life worthy of a princess.

We don’t know if Caroline insisted or not, but they wanted a castle where they could live their dream of love.

But here comes the drama.

Convinced of inheriting the family castle, Luigi turned out to be an illegitimate son, and therefore excluded from the will.

But he certainly couldn’t give up his castle.

He planned his personal revenge, giving rise to a truly bizarre idea.

His idea was to build a castle identical to that of 1170, but larger and more magnificent, and above all 200m away from the original one.
So that every day the legitimate heirs could see it in all its glory.

With the money of Caroline, much richer than him, he began the work.

He called a famous architect of the time and built his castle between 1901 and 1904.

Luigi and Caroline moved there and spent most of their lives there.
R.’s castle was full of refined frescoes and wooden floors, a truly luxurious home for the time.

The First World War passed unscathed, but the count died in 1940, followed only 4 years later by his wife.
Since then it was slowly abandoned, until its door was closed definitively in 1955.

The castle is truly immense.
Some heirs tried to renovate it, but the costs were really too high, so once the roof was fixed, they abandoned the work.

Then in 1984 it was put back on sale, but to no avail.

But like in fairy tales, there is a happy ending.
In 2020 it was bought for a decidedly high amount, and will be transformed into a location for weddings and events.
Perhaps, as long as the new owners manage to afford the expenses, R.’s castle will return to its original splendor, making fun of its neighbor.

If you love old abandoned castles at this link you can see my explorations.