Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II

Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II is the central square of the nineteenth-century redevelopment of Pollenzo by Carlo Alberto. Its fountain, the church of San Vittore and the medieval tower form a group of buildings from different periods.

Why it matters

The piazza expresses the vision of Pollenzo as a model rural estate and planned settlement. Carlo Alberto's architects reshaped the village in a neo-Gothic style, creating a square that connects the estate's civic, religious and agricultural buildings. The wider complex is included in the UNESCO-listed Residences of the Royal House of Savoy.

What to notice

The square's central fountain stands between the pointed façade of San Vittore, the cylindrical tower of the medieval castle and the crenellated tower of the Agenzia. The juxtaposition makes visible the difference between surviving medieval fabric and the nineteenth-century medieval revival of Carlo Alberto's redevelopment.

Context and history

Ancient Pollentia was a Roman town; the settlement later contracted around a castle built for Antonio Porro in 1386 and held by the marquises of Romagnano. From the early 1830s, Carlo Alberto commissioned architect Ernesto Melano and artist Pelagio Palagi to reshape Pollenzo as a neo-Gothic estate. The redevelopment included the castle, church, tower, Cascina Albertina and central piazza. The Agenzia, which served the estate, was restored in the early twenty-first century.