Castello di Cuccaro Monferrato

The name Cuccaro is considered to be of medieval origin and tied to the word Cocktail, in its sense of a rounded height. The village is mentioned for the first time in 960, it belonged to Marquisate of Monferrato and there was jurisdiction both the bishops of Vercelli and the lords of Lu.^[1]

The first mention of the existence of the castle dates back to 1116, when it was mentioned among the buildings of the castle. castrum Cuchari.^[2] Also that year Emperor Henry V granted the fiefs of Cuccaro, Fubine, Frassinello and Celle to the lords of Bassignana, from whose subsequent division the lords of Cuccaro originated;^[3] Guido and Gerardo, called Cane, and the family of Colombo di Cuccaro, linked to the court of Monferrato were infeuded.^[2]

An act of 3 November 1519, routed in the castle of Cuccaro, recalls Giorgetta Spinola, widow of Giovanni Pietro Colombo di Cuccaro, as part of a dotale concession relating to his daughter Laura.^[4]

The fame of the complex is also linked to the claim, by the family Colombo of Cuccaro, of a link with the origins of Christopher Columbus,^[5] presumption that is reflected also in the decorative apparatus of the castle, with frescoes and decorations dedicated to the navigator, including a scene depicting the landing of Columbus and the encounter with the natives.^[1]

During the seventeenth century, the castle served as headquarters of a Spanish regiment,^[2] choice taken for the location of the village, outside the main routes of communication and near to the border areas.^[3]

Over the centuries, the structure underwent significant transformations;^[2] Moreover, in June 1961, the castle tower was struck by lightning and beheaded.^[6]

The castle is located in a dominant position on the town and still preserves the plant of a fortified building, presenting itself as a building with courtyard in brick, once surmounted by a tower, flanked by a gentle chapel that over time was used as a warehouse.^[2]

The building is characterized by its bricks, whose shades are lit and tending to the violet, an element that aims to distinguish the complex from the various castles of the area.^[7] On the northern façade there are medieval openings with arches in the centre, whose wreaths have alternations of materials and colours. These differences were interpreted as the result of interventions on the building in different construction phases, showing both Romanesque and Gothic forms.^[7]

In the interior there were decorations related to Colombian memory; in particular, the ceiling of the ground floor has a depiction of a caravella, residual of a wider decoration now degraded.^[7]

Outside the complex were places of marble busts on pedestals, part of the historical furniture of the castle.^[7]

• Rosella Seren Rosso, The castles of Piemonte. The provinces of Asti and Alessandria, Cavallermaggiore, Gribaudo, 2000, ISBN 9788880581628.
• Luigi Baudoin, Castles of the northern Monferrato in the province of Alessandria, Savings Bank of Alessandria, 1967.

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