Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Piovera Castle was born as a fortress for the defense of the territory in the 14th century on previous camps of Roman, Lombard and Carolingian origin (Castrum Pioperae). It was remodeled in the 16th century and in the late Baroque period with renovations that, however, did not affect its original structure. It has survived unscathed under multiple dominations. For two hundred years the Di Mandello family administered the lands at the behest of the Visconti first, and then the Sforza, both families, lords of the Duchy of Milan, of which Piovera became part in the 14th century. In the second half of the 16th century, during the Spanish domination, it was assigned to General Don Alvaro De Sande, inaugurating with this donation the title of marquis (granted by the King of Spain Philip II in 1573). Around 1615 it passed to Don Carlo Homodeo and in 1650 it was sold by the latter's son, Agostino, to the Genoese noble Francesco Maria Balbi. In 1713, after the War of the Spanish Succession, the Piovera fiefdom was annexed to the territories of Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy. The last feudal lord of the Savoys before the “fiefdom” as an institution disappeared was Giacomo Francesco Maria Balbi, invested in 1790 by Vittorio Amedeo III. The Balbi marquises, however, maintained possession of the castle and the vast agricultural territory until the twentieth century, carrying out extensive renovation works that transformed the mighty fourteenth-century fortress into a stately and romantic country residence. The last heirs, the nobles Doria and Odescalchi, sold it to the current owner and their cousin, Count Niccolò Calvi di Bergolo, in 1967. The latter has created evocative and interesting historical-artistic itineraries inside the castle and in the garden that are open to the public, whom he accompanies with his charismatic presence.
Piovera Castle was born as a fortress for the defense of the territory in the 14th century on previous camps of Roman, Lombard and Carolingian origin (Castrum Pioperae). It was remodeled in the 16th century and in the late Baroque period with renovations that, however, did not affect its original structure. It has survived unscathed under multiple dominations. For two hundred years the Di Mandello family administered the lands at the behest of the Visconti first, and then the Sforza, both families, lords of the Duchy of Milan, of which Piovera became part in the 14th century. In the second half of the 16th century, during the Spanish domination, it was assigned to General Don Alvaro De Sande, inaugurating with this donation the title of marquis (granted by the King of Spain Philip II in 1573). Around 1615 it passed to Don Carlo Homodeo and in 1650 it was sold by the latter's son, Agostino, to the Genoese noble Francesco Maria Balbi. In 1713, after the War of the Spanish Succession, the Piovera fiefdom was annexed to the territories of Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy. The last feudal lord of the Savoys before the “fiefdom” as an institution disappeared was Giacomo Francesco Maria Balbi, invested in 1790 by Vittorio Amedeo III. The Balbi marquises, however, maintained possession of the castle and the vast agricultural territory until the twentieth century, carrying out extensive renovation works that transformed the mighty fourteenth-century fortress into a stately and romantic country residence. The last heirs, the nobles Doria and Odescalchi, sold it to the current owner and their cousin, Count Niccolò Calvi di Bergolo, in 1967. The latter has created evocative and interesting historical-artistic itineraries inside the castle and in the garden that are open to the public, whom he accompanies with his charismatic presence.
