The Turinese or tourist going along Corso Moncalieri, the tree-lined avenue between the river Po and the hills, cannot help being pleasantly attracted, when close to Isabella bridge, by the sight of the imposing complex of the Medieval Village that rests among the greenery of the famous Valentino Park mirrored in the river Po. The attraction with the evening lighting on is even greater.
This complex, with its many-towered castle, drawbridge, porticoed houses, narrow streets and lively artisan shops was built for the 1884 International Exhibition of Turin. It is a faithful replica of a 15th Century Piedmontese Village. Nothing was invented but all was organically put together as the tesseras of a mosaic. The main creator of this work was the eclectic painter and archaeologist Alfredo d'Andrade, a naturalised Italian Portuguese artist, a great connoisseur of the Piedmontese Middle Ages and restorer of many castles and abbeys in Piedmont. Works were managed by Engineer Riccardo Brayda while a host of dedicated experts took care of all the other parts of the project to create the overall historically precise scenery of the entirety and details of an environment of those days. The Village was inaugurated on April 27 1884 by the Royal Family and was immediately successful both with the press thanks to the complex's cultural value as an example of the civilian and military life of times past and with the three million visitors to the exhibition. The castle was seriously damaged by the bombing of World War II and reconstructed afterwards. The Village itself suffered less damage; fires had been put out more easily as it had always been inhabited.
On arriving at the Village, the first item to be seen is a carved
dark coloured wood cross (modelled on an original in the Castle of Fénis
in the Valley of Aosta) on the left northern side, On the right, a sentry
post then a wooden palisade, followed by a moat. Before crossing the drawbridge
there lie the first crenellated walls (from Bussoleno in the Susa Valley),
on the left the round corner Tower (Castle of San Giorio, Susa Valley),
then the square access tower to the Village (from the shelter at Oglianico
in the Canavese area) in the centre, with internal decorations (from the
Castle of Malgrà near Rivarolo Canavese and the Sacra di San Michele).
Then comes the first square, with the bakery, the smithy and the stone fountain
(from Oulx and Salabertrand in the Susa Valley) on the right and the Pilgrim's
Shelter (from Serravalle Scrivia) on the left. Further on, to the left and
right: the porticoed houses of Bussoleno, one decorated with a madmen's
dance on the outside (from Lagnasco in Cuneo province). On the right, a
house from Frossasco Pinerolo; on the left, beyond the lane leading to the
river PO, the crenellated arch door and gate (from Rivoli). Further on to
the right, the side of the house of Alba (the original was destroyed in
1883) decorated with motifs originating from examples found at Asti. Closer
to the river the house of Malgrà (from the local castle), the house of Borgofranco
d'Ivrea (from examples at Borgofranco, Masino and the Susa Valley).
On returning to the main Village road, lies the Alba Tower (from Alba and
the castle of Verzuolo near Saluzzo); on the right the house of Cuorgnè
(from the so-called house of King Arduino at Cuorgnè); on the second floor,
wooden galleries with carved shelves (Carignano).
We then reach the second square with the small church whose façade is derived
from the assembly of structural and decoration parts of various
sacred buildings of Piedmont (Verzuolo, Ciriè, Valperga, Piobesi, Piossasco
and Strambino).
On the right, the house of Avigliana. The ground floor of the building contains
the ticket office for visits to the Castle. Moving left, we enter a carriageway
accessing the house of Chieri, with its courtyard, called the tavern's.
The well in the centre is authentic and comes from Dronero in Cuneo province.
At the top, above two bodies of open galleries, is the octagonal tower of
Avigliana; on the right towards the main Village road is the house of Pinerolo
(the original is in via Principe d'Acaja at Pinerolo and is known as the
house of the Senate). Further on to the right is the house of Mondovì; towards
the bottom of the square and turning left towards the river Po is the house
of Ozegna (from the Castle of La Manta, Saluzzo). The premises on the ground
floor and mezzanine have been transformed into a restaurant.
On returning to the centre of the main square we see the Pomegranate Well.
Its basin contains a wrought iron pomegranate tree (from the courtyard of
the Castle of Issogne in the Aosta Valley). According to a legend it is
also called the Fountain of Eternal Youth.
At the end of a short but steep cobble stone lane there lies the arms shed
(from Verzuolo). The Castle is accessed by crossing a wooden bridge. The
Castle is placed higher up than the Village and dominates the whole complex.
It represents an example, using a reconstruction from actual buildings,
of how Medieval Piedmontese architecture and arts were expressed, conceived
as an imaginary trip through the Castles of Fénis, Verres, Issogne, La Manta,
Chieri, Strambino, Montaldo, Ivrea Malgrà and Verzuolo. Each castle is represented
by means of its best typical features.
The following areas of the Castle are open to visitors: the
ground floor, the first floor and the dark underground dungeons. The courtyard
(from the Castle of Fénis), the vast halls for the men at arms, the Lords'
and servants' kitchens, the richly furnished Lords' dining hall, the baronial
room (with pictorial decorations from the Castle of La Manta), the bedroom,
the horsemen's room and the chapel (with pictorial decorations from the
Abbey of San Antonio di Ranverso near Turin) are the points of greatest
interest.
The Valentino Medieval Castle and Village can be accessed via the Village quay with river boats on the river Po from the Murazzi to Italia '61 and Moncalieri.