Castles of the Canavese

Mazzè and surroundings - castles

On the A4 Turin-Milan motorway at the third exit (30 km from the city of Turin), I take the exit for Rondissone, another 7/8 km and I find myself in the medieval and very picturesque little village of Mazzè. The famous and distinctive castle, which passed from noble family to noble family down to the present day, is well signposted. I park in front of the castle and there is an atmosphere of Lancelot and Guinevere; a fairly large castle (but not a royal palace) stands perched on the little hill. We are in the Canavese area, and Mazzè is in the province of Turin. The village is very historic and artistic—churches, houses, castles and ancient alleyways—it is very evocative. The castle, besides being visitable with organised guided tours, is also the venue for wedding lunches and special conferences right in the castle halls (very evocative) and...

the visit to the torture museum (in collaboration with Amnesty International), the woodland park (about 1.5 hours' walk) and the interior of the castle cost 10 euros. At the entrance a kind girl welcomes tourists and sells the tickets; I immediately visited the museum of the torture instruments used in the past in Germany, France, Spain etc..... the museum is set inside a dark and rocky crypt, with millions of cobwebs to maintain a very "suspenseful" atmosphere; ancient, singsong music accompanies you along the museum route. There are cells, torture instruments, vats, and all that you would never want to see. Everything has a detailed written explanation in front of it and the visit lasts half an hour at most. It is thrilling and evocative; you have to like it, otherwise it is terrifying; everything is well explained in the written captions and the lighting is dim and very "ambient".....

At midday we set off for the guided tour together with a group of people from Bergamo (intrusive and rude); the guide explains the whole history of the castle room by room while we walk, the families that lived in the castle, the reason for everything present and absent in the castle. There are 2 castles, but the small one is the current residence of the owner (of both) and therefore only the large one can be visited, which is very beautiful and takes 40 minutes to see. Picturesque and very beautiful halls follow one another, alternating with smaller and less interesting rooms. Two halls are set up for a wedding lunch that will take place a couple of hours later, so we cannot touch anything and cannot linger too long in the rooms. Mirrors, fireplaces, tables, thrones and carpets....everything captures your attention.

From a tower, via a very steep spiral staircase, you reach the entrance of the castle; from here we enter the first, bare hall, which is connected to the others. The hall of battles, the games room, the dining room, the bedroom, the anteroom and the bathroom.... some pieces of furniture are original to the period and some are just for decoration. Suits of armour, Bohemian crystal chandeliers, typical Venetian floors and period weapons; it is a fine medieval atmosphere. The castle stands next to the Dora, which is grey-blue in colour; from above the view is evocative and the sun is even out despite it being the beginning of October. In front of the castle there is a small garden (where wedding aperitifs are held), raised like a balcony over the river Dora; the panorama is beautiful; here there is also a well, some palms, hedges, decorative features, benches and climbing ivy.

After a quick bite to eat, I go back to visit the missing piece, namely the "Bosco Parco", the castle park, which has a set route and is fairly easy to tackle, immersed in wild nature. It lasts about 1.5 hours and goes as far as the dock on the Dora (breathtaking panorama) and returns towards the castle among trees, bushes and green meadows. The park has centuries-old trees and new plantings, a bamboo grove, and in summer it is dotted with multicoloured flowers. Some remains on a flat area, an ancient ruined little church, an almost destroyed complex of buildings and flat green areas. A pond that has now disappeared; the path is visible but at times climbs quite a bit; in some points there are glimpses and very beautiful views over the river Dora. Near Mazzè castle is Masino castle, unfortunately visitable only by reservation, so we take a few photos from the outside.

We then briefly visit a lake (Lake Candia) in the surroundings. I recommend to anyone who likes visiting historic sites and castles to spend a Sunday at Mazzè, an interesting and pleasant place. Adjacent to the castle there is a restaurant, but when wedding lunches are taking place you cannot go and eat there. The visit was very interesting; the guide, perhaps a little inexperienced, was unable to keep the undisciplined group from Bergamo under control, as they touched everything and chatted among themselves, but....it is still a fine experience.