Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 19 hours ago
The history of the castle can be summarized as follows: built in the late 14th century by order of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, it was strengthened in the late 15th century by the Sforza family, who had meanwhile seized power. The Sforzas added further parts to the main body, which remained as such until the 16th century, when the castle, commissioned by the Gattinara family, was transformed into a comfortable residence. It has a typical quadrilateral layout, with a moat, an internal courtyard, and four corner towers. The castle is the village's main attraction and currently houses the "Lomellina Study and Documentation Center" and the "Sartirana Art Foundation," with museums housing collections of silver, jewelry, objects of peasant culture, and graphic art. Both the Study Center and the Foundation organize numerous international exhibitions and cultural events. In 1462-1463, under the Sforza family, the castle underwent military transformations, enlarging and strengthening the Round Tower. These were carried out by the renowned architect Bartolomeo Fioravanti, the same architect whom Ivan II, Tsar of Russia, called to his court to build the Kremlin's defenses. Sartirana and its castle then passed to the Spanish, under Cardinal Mercurino Arborio, until his death in 1530. The castle belonged to the Arborio dynasty until 1934, and then to the Duke of Aosta, Amedeo of Savoy.
The history of the castle can be summarized as follows: built in the late 14th century by order of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, it was strengthened in the late 15th century by the Sforza family, who had meanwhile seized power. The Sforzas added further parts to the main body, which remained as such until the 16th century, when the castle, commissioned by the Gattinara family, was transformed into a comfortable residence. It has a typical quadrilateral layout, with a moat, an internal courtyard, and four corner towers. The castle is the village's main attraction and currently houses the "Lomellina Study and Documentation Center" and the "Sartirana Art Foundation," with museums housing collections of silver, jewelry, objects of peasant culture, and graphic art. Both the Study Center and the Foundation organize numerous international exhibitions and cultural events. In 1462-1463, under the Sforza family, the castle underwent military transformations, enlarging and strengthening the Round Tower. These were carried out by the renowned architect Bartolomeo Fioravanti, the same architect whom Ivan II, Tsar of Russia, called to his court to build the Kremlin's defenses. Sartirana and its castle then passed to the Spanish, under Cardinal Mercurino Arborio, until his death in 1530. The castle belonged to the Arborio dynasty until 1934, and then to the Duke of Aosta, Amedeo of Savoy.
