On a sunny Friday morning we drove into the centre of the charming town of Casale Monferrato in Piemonte. The name of the town suggests that it was once not much to look at. A casale is a farm or rural settlement. Casale was indeed of little importance for a long time, but that all changed in the fifteenth century, when the marquesses (or margraves) of Monferrato turned it into their capital. The streets of the town are usually nice and quiet, but there is a lot to see in Casale Monferrato: churches, a synagogue, piazzas and an interesting museum. Moreover, the town is the place to be for food lovers.
A visit to Casale usually starts on the large free car park surrounding the castle. This Castello dei Paleologi or Castello del Monferrato tells us a lot about the history of the town. The March of Monferrato was founded in the tenth century and until 1305 it was ruled by scions of the Aleramici dynasty. When Marquess Giovanni (John) I Monferrato died in that year he was succeeded by his nephew Teodoro (Theodore) I Paleologo, a son of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine emperor. With Teodoro starts the Paleologo dynasty, and the castle of Casale was named after them. It was built in 1352 by Giovanni (John) II Paleologo, Teodoro’s son. Casale had only been acquired by the marquesses of Monferrato in 1292, and they primarily used the castle to keep the citizens of the town under their thumb. However, in 1370 the Paleologi lost Casale to Milan. Milanese rule lasted until 1404, when Casale once again fell into the hands of Monferrato. Several decades later the marquesses made it their capital. At the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century the castle was transformed from a military stronghold into a civil residence.
The Paleologo dynasty ended in 1533 with the death of Giovanni Giorgio (John George) Paleologo. Three years later the emperor Charles V assigned the March to Federico II Gonzaga, the Duke of Mantova. Federico was married to a niece of Giovanni Giorgio. The Dukes of Mantova and Monferrato would definitely leave their mark on the castle of Casale. In the 1560s and 1570s Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga transformed the castle into a military stronghold again, and one of the most formidable in all of Europe to boot. The stronghold was built in the shape of a star, with strong bastions and ravelins. At the end of the sixteenth century Bernardino and Girolamo Facciotto, a father and son, also worked on the castle. Thanks to their efforts two Spanish sieges, in 1628-1629 and 1629-1630 ended in failure. Both sieges were part of the War of the Mantuan Succession (1628-1631), which had erupted after the death of Duke Vincenzo II Gonzaga in 1627. Ultimately Carlo I Gonzaga became the new Duke of Mantova and Monferrato. He was already Duke of Nevers, had been born in Paris and received support from France. However, parts of Monferrato were ceded to the House of Savoy, which had supported Carlo’s rival.
After the death of Duke Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga in 1708, all of Monferrato fell into the hands of Savoy. The Dukes of Savoy ruled from Turin, but in 1720 also became Kings of Sardinia. In 1847 all administrative differences between the island and the Savoy possessions on the mainland were eliminated, and henceforth we speak of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia or Sardinia-Piedmont. After the unification of Italy in 1861 the castle of Casale lost its military purpose, so over the course of the nineteenth century parts of it were demolished, for instance the ravelins. The castle currently houses the tourist information office of Casale and is used for temporary exhibitions. During our vacation in Piemonte we visited an exhibition about The Beatles there. It should usually be possible to walk on the walls and bastions of the castle. The view of the river Po and of the Alps in the distance is splendid.
From the walls visitors can also see the Baroque church of Santa Caterina with its conspicuous elliptical dome. Although the church is not that old, there is apparently quite a lot of uncertainty regarding its history. Let us start with the name of the church. It is officially called the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The name Santa Caterina is a remnant of a Dominican nunnery, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Siena, which once stood here. The Baroque church is traditionally attributed to Giovanni Battista Scapitta (ca. 1653-1715), but if you read the information signs in the church you will taste a lot of doubt. The frescoes were painted by Giancarlo Aliberti (1670-1727) and the magnificently obscure Cavaliere Benaschi. Who exactly painted what is still under investigation. Even the year in which the church was consecrated has apparently not been recorded. The church itself believes it was ‘around 1720’, in other sources we find the year 1726.
In spite of all these uncertainties the church of Santa Caterina is definitely worth a visit. The church has long been closed to the public, but visitors are more than welcome today, and they will be pleasantly surprised by the information signs, which are in English. The church has been built in the shape of a Greek cross and has a light interior. The frescoes are beautiful, but the real artistic highlight of the Santa Caterina must be the statue of the Virgin above the high altar, a work by Giovanni Battista Bernero (1736-1796).
From the Santa Caterina we walk north a little and take a right turn into the Via Aurelio Saffi. If we follow this street, we will pass by the Torre Civica and the church of Santo Stefano. The Torre Civica possibly dates from the eleventh century, but was rebuilt in about 1510 by the architect Matteo Sanmicheli (1480-?), a cousin of the much more famous architect Michele Sanmicheli (1484-1559) from Verona. The tower is some 60 metres high and appears to serve as the bell-tower of the Baroque Santo Stefano, consecrated in 1661. The church possesses a work by Giovan Francesco Caroto (ca. 1480-1555), who among other things is known for his painting of a boy with a drawing, now in the Castelvecchio in Verona. We also find works here by Guglielmo Caccia, nicknamed Il Moncalvo (1568-1625), and by the local painter Pier Francesco Guala (1698-1757). The architect of the church was one Sebastiano Guala, possibly a relative of the painter.
The Via Aurelio Saffi ends at the Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini. The eye-catcher here is the equestrian statue of King Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia, made in 1843 by the sculptor Abbondio Sangiorgio from Milan (1798-1879). The King played an important role in Italian history. He contributed to the new liberal Constitution of 1848, the Statuto Albertino, which among other things introduced freedom of religion. Charles Albert also tried to liberate Northern Italy from Austrian occupation during the First Italian War of Independence, but he failed. His army was defeated at Custoza in 1848, and this defeat was followed by another defeat in 1849 at Novara. The King then abdicated in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel II, who in 1861 became the first King of a united Italy.
It is now time for lunch. If you fancy pizza, I can recommend Ristorante Pizzeria Marechiaro, just east of the Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini. An alternative would be Cafè Riviera in the Via Roma, which can be reached by foot in two minutes. At Cafè Riviera they serve the typical Piedmontese pasta called agnolotti. Casale Monferrato itself is known for its curved cookies called krumiri, which can be purchased at Krumireria Antica Drogheria Corino 1764. The cookies were first baked in 1878 and are said to have been modelled on the moustache of King Victor Emmanuel II, who died in that year.
After lunch you can explore the rest of Casale Monferrato. North of the Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini we find the immense church of San Domenico. It is seldom open, but very much worth a visit. I have dedicated a separate post to the church. We also paid a brief visit to the sixteenth-century church of Sant’Ilario, dedicated to Saint Hilarius of Poitiers (ca. 310-367). The church has a conspicuous orange-brown façade that almost looks like it is made of ceramic. The interior is simple and rather dark. The Sant’Ilario possesses two works by the local painter Niccolò Musso, a follower of Caravaggio. These originally hung in the now demolished church of San Francesco, which also housed the tombs of the Paleologi (you will find a monument for them in the church of San Domenico). If we then return to the Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini, we can visit the Duomo of Casale directly behind the square. It is dedicated to the obscure Saint Evasius. Casale Monferrato did not get its own bishop until 1474, so the Duomo has only been a cathedral since that year. It is an intriguing building, so I will dedicate a separate post to it.
The most important attractions south of the Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini are the synagogue and the civic museum. The synagogue dates from the sixteenth century, but is mostly famous for its spectacular eighteenth- and nineteenth-century interior. In a separate post you can read more about this exceptional building. The full name of the civic museum is the Museo Civico e Gipsoteca Bistolfi. The Museo Civico has an interesting collection of paintings and sculptures, while the Gipsoteca is dedicated to the work of the local sculptor Leonardo Bistolfi (1859-1933). Part of the civic museum is a permanent exhibition about the globetrotter Carlo Vidua (1785-1830), who created a unique ethnological collection. I will tell you more about it in a separate post.
After so much art and culture you must have built up an appetite. At 7:00 PM you can dine at Locanda Rossignoli 1913 in the Via Lanza. This charming restaurant serves typical Piedmontese specialties. Try the vitello tonnato (veal in tuna sauce), tarte tatin of red onion with Robiola cheese, Fassona beef or local pork. Pick bonèt for desert, a kind of Piedmontese chocolate pudding. The prices of the restaurant are very reasonable.