The first building to profoundly reshape the appearance of the city within its walls was the Castle, built between 1358 and 1395 at the behest of Amedeo VI, known as the Conte Verde. Rising in a strategic defensive position at the highest point of the city, with four towers at its four corners rising directly from the ground, it served above all as a noble residence for the Counts of Savoy. History has left generous accounts: of the sumptuous banquet held in 1390 by the Conte Rosso with his mother Bona di Borbone, his wife Bona di Berry and many citizens of Ivrea; of the passing through in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries of important noblewomen such as Anna di Cipro, Jolanda di Francia, Bianca di Monferrato, Filiberta di Savoia and Menca di Braganza; of the great celebration organised in 1522 for the baptism of Prince Adriano di Savoia; and of the solemn ceremony of 1648 organised by Maria Cristina di Francia — Madama Reale and widow of Vittorio Amedeo I — for the proclamation of her young son Carlo Emanuele II as the new Duke of Savoy.
The elegant double-arched window that graces the south wall, overlooking the square, with the coats of arms of the House of Savoy above, is a precious trace of the courtly taste of a relatively brief historical period. Already by the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in fact, as French and Spanish forces contested the city, the Castle resumed its function as a military garrison. Until, in 1676, a tragic event altered its appearance forever. Lightning struck the south-western tower, where large quantities of gunpowder were stored: the tower exploded, the rubble fell on the city, destroying dozens of houses and killing 51 people. To this day the Castle stands with only three towers. From 1750 until 1970, the fortress was used as a prison, a purpose that has overshadowed its older and more fascinating history.
But there are other ways in which a castle can live on in history and in the collective imagination. For instance, when its image is captured by the eye of a poet and immortalised in verse. Ivrea Castle was given exactly this by none other than Giosuè Carducci, in his ode Piemonte, written at Ceresole Reale in the summer of 1890. A few extraordinary brushstrokes with which no photograph can compete:
“Ivrea the fair, that mirrors her red towers / dreaming in the blue-green Dora’s / broad embrace, dark all around / the shadow of King Arduino.”
For centuries, grandeur and splendour inhabited the inner courtyard. Four wings of three storeys followed one another along the four sides of the walls: halls and reception rooms, chambers for nobles, for servants, for the men of the guard. During the centuries when the castle served as a prison, the ancient magnificence was lost — but not the fascination of its medieval forms. Beneath the formidable crenellated towers, the imposing walls are still punctuated by arrow slits and windows, and support the patrol walkways, today accessible to all. The castle courtyard has come back to life, hosting cultural events of every kind, food and wine occasions, and historical re-enactments, becoming a place where past and present can meet.
For those who reach it through the new internal staircase, the towers of the Castle and the patrol walkways offer the chance to admire one of the finest panoramas in Piedmont. The view from up there takes in the whole city — the rooftops and balconies of the historic centre gathered around the Cathedral, and, further off and more discreet, on the other side of the Dora, the Olivetti industrial area. And it takes in the Ivrea Morainic Amphitheater in all its wonder: shaped by successive pulses of the Balteo Glacier, it is a natural crown of hills among the best preserved in the world. Dotted with villages, castles and bell towers, it whispers to the visitor the secrets of its geological and human history.
Visiting Ivrea Castle means encountering a particular charisma, born of centuries of splendour and centuries of hardship. And it means, above all, allowing yourself to soar. From the towers and the walkways along the castle walls, one enjoys one of the most evocative panoramas in Piedmont: over the city at its feet and over the Ivrea Morainic Amphitheater, one of the best-preserved of its kind in the world, with its crown of hills left behind by the retreating glaciers. Nature, history and the work of human hands, all in a single glance.
