For ten centuries the residence of the Valperga Counts, Masino castle -
surrounded originally by walls and towers - is set in a monumental,
romantic park dominating the Canavese plains.
The interiors, with the
halls frescoed and richly furnished in the 1600s-1700s, the Madama Reale
apartments, the bedrooms for ambassadors and the separate salons all
document the vicissitudes of a family that was one of the protagonists
in the history of Piedmont and Italy itself. The nearby Palazzo delle
Carrozze boasts a superb collection of coaches of the XVIII and XIX
centuries.
Masino Castle: The Park
Just like the castle, the park itself also underwent changes over the
centuries. In the XVIII century, the gardens that surrounded the castle
south-east and west were designed in accordance with a classic
geometrical outline that combined the Renaissance forms of Italian
gardens with the decorative embellishments of French gardens. The
present day configuration derives from the English Garden re-arrangement
dating from the first half of the 1800s that involved the development of
the “22 turn road” that descends through the woods towards Strambino.
Masino Castle: The Red Salon
The settings in the more than thirty monumental rooms in castle are
still today the result of the "sedimentation" of cultural testimony and
taste over the centuries: an exceptional example for such a residence
today open to the public. The red salon - with its damasks, collection
of miniatures, 1600s portraits of "fine ladies" in the splendid oval
cornices, comfortable yet sooty velvet armchairs around a small
reproduction table, the pompous consoles and superb porcelain - is one
of the most evident examples of the atmosphere found and conserved by
FAI at Masino.
Masino Castle: The Ballroom
The ballroom in the large, round keep is one of the most fascinating
settings in the castle, thanks to the light through the large windows
overlooking the green park, the broad, Arcadian landscapes frescoed
around 1730 creating illusions with the fluttering curtains and the dome
alternating pillars and open windows. The very high ceiling has a huge
chandelier in Bohemian crystal. The rather limited furniture includes:
the fine 1700s benches and the small Lombard gaming tables in the
Maggiolini style.
Masino Castle: The Billiards Room
Dominated by the huge 1800s billiards table with its fine cue-holders
and scoreboard set off by a series of games played to pass pleasant
hours of “villa life”, the billiards hall as frescoed around the
mid-1600s with a taste that, even in terms of colour and subjects,
recalls the mannerist culture. Huge medallions depicting famous battles
alternate with allegorical figures of the virtues in the form of
caryatids; beneath the medallions, pairs of slaves with exotic features
and appearances hold shields with the “deeds” of the Valperga family,
whose large coat-of-arms dominates the ceiling.
Masino Castle: The Madama Reale apartment
Maria Giovanna Battista di Savoia, regent for here son Vittorio Amedeo
II from 1675, was often a guest of Francesco I Masino who prepared the
small "Madama Reale" apartment for her in the castle. The antechamber
and the bed chamber were refurnished around the mid-1700s and lined with
precious "papiers peints" in the Chinese style similar to those chosen
by the Savoia for Aglio' and Racconigi castles. The pompous baldachin
bed, the armchairs and the curtains still today retain the precious,
rare and very fragile "china" silk dating from around the 1870s.
