On top of Monte Crovero above the Lakes of Ivrea, the Castle of Montalto Dora dominates the surrounding valleys with its imposing silhouette. The building (over 2,000 sqm) revolves around a paved courtyard ideal for events and ceremonies, and includes 11 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms and a beautiful 15th-century chapel. The land around (6.6 ha) is home to a secondary keep and a cascina.
The town of Montalto Dora is just 2 km from the Castle and offers all the necessary services. Other historic cities of northern Italy and renowned ski locations can all be reached in less than two hours.
The castle is embedded in a breathtaking context: the Canavese is indeed a unicum when considering its environmental and geological peculiarities, since it bears the traces of ancient glaciations in the form of the famous Serra d'Ivrea and the five lakes (including Sirio, Nero and Pistono where one can swim). Because of these unique features, the area has been listed as a site of community importance by the EU.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS
The castle (2,030 sqm – 21,843 sqft, 9 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms) is laid on several misaligned floors that follow the irregularity of the rocky spur and revolve around a central paved courtyard (400 sqm – 4,304 sqft).
The lower floor is made up of the old dungeons, nowadays converted into cellars and storage rooms and covered with beautiful wooden ceilings: in these underground rooms one can easily see the rocks the castle is attached to.
On the ground floor, all around the paved courtyard, are many halls, a dining room with kitchen, bathrooms and an office. The latter was probably the original guard post since it is located right next to the main portcullis of the castle.
At an intermediate level, a mezzanine floor above the kitchen and inside the quadrangular tower, is home to two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms (both easily accessed from the courtyard via a stone staircase).
On the first floor (piano nobile) are a huge reception room with fireplace, another living room with fireplace, three bedrooms with en-suite bathroom (one again the quadrangular tower) and two ample libraries with a connected reading room.
The tower has a further level on top which houses a beautiful bedroom with en-suite bathroom: from here one has a breathtaking view over the surrounding landscape.
In a corner of the main courtyard, right next to the portcullis, is the medieval chapel (90 sqm – 968 sqft) with frescoes dating back to the 15th century and a bell tower.
In another corner of the castle, accessed via a side courtyard, is the keeper's apartment (75 sqm – 807 sqft) laid over two floors and made up of living room with kitchen and bathroom on the lower floor and two bedrooms with bathroom on the upper floor.
A secondary keep (220 sqm – 2,367 sqft) is located a short distance from the main castle and is made up of several rooms currently used as storages and depots. This building, also revolving around a central courtyard, was probably used in the past as a guesthouse for noblemen visiting the lord.
In a defiladed position below the castle is an old cascina (110 sqm – 1,184 sqft) to be restored and laid over two floors currently exploited as storage rooms. Being located along the slope, both floors of the building can be accessed directly from outside.
HISTORY, STATE AND FINISHES
The castle is built on top of monte Crovero, where there was already some sort of settlement in the Roman age. Between the 10th and the 11th century the castle was built and around 1000 AD it was made up of a fortified tower with a wall enclosing a few houses and a chapel dedicated to saints Ephesius, Mark and Eusebius. In 1141 the castle was listed as a possession of the Bishops of Ivrea.
The importance of the fortress during the Middle Ages was due to its positioning along the Via Francigena and the road connecting Ivrea and Valle d'Aosta.
In 1344 the building was inherited by the Savoy family who exploit
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