CASTELLO VISCONTEO DI VOGOGNA

The Vogogna Castle towers majestically above the historic village, characterised by a semicircular tower which overlooks the entire area. Its history is rooted in the defence of the valley: in the 1328, In fact, Vogogna became the capital of the’Lower Ossola (rivalling Domodossola, a key location in Upper Ossola), making a sturdy fortification necessary. It was Giovanni Visconti, in the 1348, to extend its original structure.

Although the walls withstood the assaults of the Marquis of Monferrato (1360) and the Spelorci (1374) — the extent of the damage to which remains partly shrouded in mystery — the castle’s fate changed radically in 1798, when it became the property of the local council and was converted into prison.

Locked inside the 1970, the complex has been given a new lease of life thanks to a long restoration work began in 1990. Reopened to the public in 1998, saw the completion of its interior spaces in 2004, right up to the opening of the modern exhibition and tourist facilities in 2005.