Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Roddi Castle is a fortification located on the top of the hill on which the village of Roddi is perched, in the province of Cuneo, in Piedmont. The castle is known for having been owned by the Pico della Mirandola family. The original construction of the castle dates back to the 11th century, undergoing significant renovations in the following centuries: the current conformation of the castle can in fact be dated between the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century by the Faletti family. In the Middle Ages it was a fief of the Marquises of Monferrato. Main tower On 5 December 1525 Giovanna Carafa (wife of Giovanni Francesco II Pico della Mirandola, nephew of the famous humanist philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola) bought from Anna d'Alençon, widow of William IX Paleologo, Marquis of Monferrato, and guardian of Boniface IV, the castle of Roddi with the subjected lands and the related jurisdictional rights in the territory of Roddi d'Alba, for the price of 6,000 gold scudi of the sun. On 11 December, representatives of the families of Roddi, gathered in the town church, swore allegiance to Giovanna Carafa. Emperor Charles V confirmed the purchase of Roddi with a diploma signed in Granada on 20 June 1525. After the assassination of Giovanni Francesco II Pico and his son Alberto in 1533 inside the Pico castle, his wife Giovanna Carafa with her surviving children and grandchildren had to move to Roddi, usurped from their legitimate dominion over Mirandola by their nephew Galeotto II Pico. The subsequent owners of the castle were the Della Chiesa family of Saluzzo, who took possession of it in 1690. After the Congress of Vienna, Roddi castle became the property of the Savoy family and then of the Italian State. In 2001, the castle finally became municipal property. In 2007, it became part of the circuit of eight castles "Castelli D.O.C." of the UNESCO site of the Piedmont Wine Landscape: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato, which includes the manors of Grinzane Cavour, Barolo, Serralunga d'Alba, Govone, Magliano Alfieri, Roddi d'Alba, Mango and Benevello. It is also included in the circuit of the "Open Castles" of Lower Piedmont. In a portion of the castle the International School of White Truffle Cooking of Alba was inaugurated. At the foot of the castle, since 1880, the so-called "University of Truffle Dogs" founded in 1880 by Antonio Monchiero known as "Barot" has been based.
Roddi Castle is a fortification located on the top of the hill on which the village of Roddi is perched, in the province of Cuneo, in Piedmont. The castle is known for having been owned by the Pico della Mirandola family. The original construction of the castle dates back to the 11th century, undergoing significant renovations in the following centuries: the current conformation of the castle can in fact be dated between the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century by the Faletti family. In the Middle Ages it was a fief of the Marquises of Monferrato. Main tower On 5 December 1525 Giovanna Carafa (wife of Giovanni Francesco II Pico della Mirandola, nephew of the famous humanist philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola) bought from Anna d'Alençon, widow of William IX Paleologo, Marquis of Monferrato, and guardian of Boniface IV, the castle of Roddi with the subjected lands and the related jurisdictional rights in the territory of Roddi d'Alba, for the price of 6,000 gold scudi of the sun. On 11 December, representatives of the families of Roddi, gathered in the town church, swore allegiance to Giovanna Carafa. Emperor Charles V confirmed the purchase of Roddi with a diploma signed in Granada on 20 June 1525. After the assassination of Giovanni Francesco II Pico and his son Alberto in 1533 inside the Pico castle, his wife Giovanna Carafa with her surviving children and grandchildren had to move to Roddi, usurped from their legitimate dominion over Mirandola by their nephew Galeotto II Pico. The subsequent owners of the castle were the Della Chiesa family of Saluzzo, who took possession of it in 1690. After the Congress of Vienna, Roddi castle became the property of the Savoy family and then of the Italian State. In 2001, the castle finally became municipal property. In 2007, it became part of the circuit of eight castles "Castelli D.O.C." of the UNESCO site of the Piedmont Wine Landscape: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato, which includes the manors of Grinzane Cavour, Barolo, Serralunga d'Alba, Govone, Magliano Alfieri, Roddi d'Alba, Mango and Benevello. It is also included in the circuit of the "Open Castles" of Lower Piedmont. In a portion of the castle the International School of White Truffle Cooking of Alba was inaugurated. At the foot of the castle, since 1880, the so-called "University of Truffle Dogs" founded in 1880 by Antonio Monchiero known as "Barot" has been based.
