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The castle of Ivrea | |
| The Castle of Ivrea was built in 1358 by Amedeo VI Savoia, the Green Count. It became an elegant Savoy residence, with a lot of tapestry, carpets, silverware , precious silks. Duchesses of the dynasty (as Jolande de France, sister of Luis XI and Beatrice of Portugal) lived there, and developed culture and arts . In 1522 Prince Adrian, son of Carlo il Buono, was born in the castle. During the 16th century, in Canavese, wars burst out between French and Spanish and the castle, from a rich residence became a military garrison |
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| and finally, in the 18th century, a prison. It
remained a prison until 1970, when the State gave it to the Town. Today it is partially
open to visitors on the ground floor, the court, and in some rooms dungeon cells
that are still arranged in the way they were used at that time. This massive construction, entirely built in bricks, is square shaped and has big cylindrical towers at the corners (the red towers). On the walls you can see the stone modillions on which there are tiny brick arcs and the embrasures of the walking paths. Many original windows are still there too, particularly interesting a big mullioned window with the Savoy crossed symbol. Only three towers are still standing from the original four, as the North-West one was chopped off in a violent explosion in 1676. On the 17th of June of that year a bolt of lightning fell on that tower, used as a gunpowder deposit. The explosion and the fire that followed caused 51 (or maybe 80) deaths and ruined more than 100 houses. |
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