Castello del Monferrato (Castello dei Paleologi)

The brick castle of Casale Monferrato began as the seat of the Paleologi marquises and later became part of the city's civic life. Its hexagonal plan, corner towers and dry moat preserve the form of a medieval fortress.

Why it matters

The castle was a power base of the Paleologi, the dynasty that ruled the Marquisate of Monferrato, and later a Gonzaga stronghold. Its central position and surviving towers preserve successive phases of the city's military history. The restored complex also serves civic and cultural purposes.

What to notice

The asymmetric hexagonal plan and round corner towers reflect the castle's artillery-era defensive role. A marble relief above the main gate bears the arms of the Aleramo, Paleologi and Gonzaga houses. Eighteenth-century underground passages preserve earlier defensive elements; restored areas include the first courtyard, a chapel and tower casemates.

Context and history

Construction of the present castle was begun in the mid-fourteenth century by Marquis Giovanni II Paleologo and effectively completed by 1357, reinforcing defences that already existed. During the Visconti occupation the fortress was fitted for firearms, and in the fifteenth century Guglielmo VIII and Bonifacio V expanded it, adding a second courtyard as Casale became the fixed capital of the march and, from 1474, a city. After the death of the last Paleologi marquis and the settlement of the succession by the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis of 1559, the march passed to the Gonzaga of Mantua and the castle lost its courtly function and was re-militarised: flanks and towers were strengthened and ravelins were added, one to each face. It withstood the age of sieges, was absorbed into Casale's nineteenth-century fortress system when war with Austria loomed, and from 1856 the ravelins were progressively demolished to open the city up. The nineteenth-century partial demolition and later restorations produced the accessible monument seen today, used for exhibitions, events and the regional wine cellar.