FROM THE 14TH CENTURY TO NOWADAYS
There are no historical documents that give evidence of the existence of the Castle before 1300 but it is certain that since 1367, when Oviglio fell under the power of Galeazzo Visconti, where now we see the castle there was a “castrum” surrounded by fortified walls which enclosed also the ancient medieval village, which the citizens of Oviglio still call the “borgo di dentro”, which means the “borgo”, or village, inside the fortified enclosure. So it is certain that in the castrum and the fief of Oviglio under the Visconti, Dukes of Milan, lived several noble families, among them the last, the Perboni family, who lived there for almost five centuries. The castle of Oviglio took the name it still has today, the “Royal Castle”, from the fact that it was acquired by Her Majesty the Queen Cristina of Bourbon, the Infanta of the Two Sicilies, the widow of King Carlo Felice (Chares Felix).
The castle was then owned by several families for the Piedmont region, including Counts Perboni and Calcamuggi. It was them who, during their ownership, carried out important restoration and adaptation works. The look of the two sides was improved, to the east and to the south; the east entrance with its imposing tower were built; the west entrance was rebuilt and the main salon was restored. They also built the precious coffered ceiling of the reception salon and the ordered the frescoes that still embellish the several halls of the Castle noble floor.
On June 4, 1908, the Italian Ministry of Education declared the Royal Castle of Oviglio a national monument of historical and artistic interest.
To this day, we can still appreciate all the fascination of an eight-century-long history marked by modern interventions that turned the castle into a historical mansion with all the comforts, with its original and well-kept environments and an exclusive atmosphere, in the enchanting territory of Piedmont.
