San Giorgio Monferrato Castle

Built on an inaccessible tuff spur, from which the entire valley and surrounding plain can be seen, it was initially a watchtower, later equipped with granaries for food reserves and quarters for healing. The first inhabitants of the current town settled immediately below the fort, feeling protected.
Aleramo, the founder of the Marquises of Monferrato, held his court here, which at the time was itinerant. The castle, perched high on the hill, was impregnable due to its position and external defenses. It also had a well that could only be reached from the inside through a long tunnel dug into the tuff, allowing the inhabitants to resist sieges.
The feudal lords, over time, were the counts of Lomello, the Church of Vercelli and William VI of Monferrato called the Great who, in the 13th century, further strengthened the fortifications with higher walls to the north. The last feudal lords of San Giorgio, the Gozani, enriched the castle with the scenographic eighteenth-century façade, with progressively receding masses, the large U-shaped staircase and the two arches that mark the entrances to the south and north. The Gozani were responsible for the construction in the eighteenth century, inside the hanging garden, of the chapel with perfect proportions, the work of Ferroggio, a student of Juvarra. The architect Bollati (1870) was responsible for the southern façade with neo-Gothic forms: it is a façade broken in a horizontal direction, receding to form a terrace on the third floor, from which, without climbing to the top of the tower, you can enjoy the spectacular view of the Alpine arch, from Monviso to Monte Rosa, of the gentle Monferrato hills and the Lomellina plain. Even though the Castle is private property, it is possible to visit it. Consult the website castellodisangiorgiomonferrato.com to find out the dates and times of visits.