Frassinello Monferrato: sights, history and trails

The castle of Frassinello is on the top of the village and boasts a thousand-year history. It has been known since the 11th century, period in which the village of Monferrino, was in the royal diploma of Henry III cum castro et corte et cappella. The castle is described as a defensive fortress, a function which justifies its position on the top of the hill. A Curtense castle, it combined its military function with administrative functions, with a court subject to its protection.
Despite the ancient origins, there are few traces of the medieval period, in the plant and in the architectural structures. Among these should be mentioned the Caminata, large room in late Gothic style with valuable arches, a convivial meeting place around the fireplace for lords and vassals.

Over the centuries, the castle has undergone modifications and restorations, until it reaches its current state of prestigious mansion. For centuries, the castrum was the property of the noble house of Nemours, Counts of Frassinello, lords of Lignano and Knights of Malta. The interest in the castle as a family home, grew on horseback between the '600 and the '700, period to which the construction of the beautiful octagonal chapel is due finely frescoed, the ornate of some doors and other ornaments in the west wing of the building complex, the reserved one, precisely, to the manor house. The same large secular ice cream that dominates the court and incorporates one of the two wells, seems to date back to those years. At the end of the eighteenth century, the house Sacchi-Nemours, born from the union of the two families, opened to the complex new touches and innovations. The coat of arms, still present in the floor of the salon of honor in a magnificent mosaic, shows the symbols of both houses.
The castle was sold to private individuals in 1945 by Paolo Sacchi-Nemours. The recent restoration has brought back the structure to the ancient splendor.

The castle, one of the oldest in northern Monferrato, is currently constituted by a complex of buildings partly intended for residence, in part to the management of agricultural and wine activities.
A first construction — evidenced by the inscription that shows in a plate, preserved in the main courtyard, the name of Lucio Herennio, called "Lhennuis", from which the castle takes its name — probably dates back to the Roman period and consists of a castrum Defence.
In 1416 the castle was granted by Gian Giacomo Paleologo, Marquis of Monferrato to Manfredo Cane, son of Augustine, family of Casale Monferrato to which also the leader and captain of vein Facino Cane belonged.
Rebuilt after 1553, several times tampered and modified over the centuries, in the early '900 the entire property passes to the Lavagno family Casale Monferrato, while in 1974 it was partly brought back to the original lines of the 12th century.^[5]

In the last hundred years, starting from 1921, the resident population has reduced by two thirds.

Inhabitants registered^[6]