Villadeati: sights, history and trails

The village owes its name to the Deati family, which obtained the territory in fief in the fourteenth century. In the year 1431, the first document attesting the existence of De Villa de Deatis. It was part of the Asti area for a long time, under the name of Court of Scataldeis, after which it returned to a military system that was based on two castles that dominated the Stura and Versa valleys.

The village of Villadeati has become sadly known for the tragic events that occurred in the years of World War II and Liberation.
In the fall of 1944, partisans in the area killed a German military in a firefight and took prisoner a second German soldier, then managed to escape many months later.
By retaliation the Nazis broke into Villadeati on 9 October 1944 to stab partisans, but not find them, nine men and one woman (later released) of the country took prisoners. The parish priest of Villadeati was also taken from the parish church, Fr Ernesto Camurati.
The ten arrested were taken to a snare to be shot, but the pastor offered his life in exchange for that of his parishioners. The treatise was useless and Don Camurati was shot with the nine fathers of the family: the pastor did not die immediately, but he was finished with two blows to the nape by Major Mayer.

On 23 October 1944, a new raid of the Nazis took place, with machine guns placed from above, which resulted in the general escape of the inhabitants: a new killing was added to the list, leading to eleven the total number of innocent victims.
On 9 May 1945, Major Mayer was captured in the aftermath of Liberation. Casale Monferrato and killed by the partisans on the same place as the October massacre occurred.
The escaped German soldier (this Ernesto), an active participant in the selection of the ten arrested, was never traced again.

Today at Villadeati there is a monument to the victims, in the square called IX October, where the execution took place.
A tombstone in memory of Don Camurati is instead present in via Goffredo Mameli a Casale Monferrato.

• Church of San Remigio: located near the monument dedicated to the victims of Nazi retaliation, it is of ancient origin and dedicated to the patron saint of the country. For a long time in ruin, it has been renovated and unscrupulous and is now used to host cultural events
• Castello di Villadeati: the ancient castle, of which there is no trace for the destruction during the wars of Monferrato, has been transformed at the end of the eighteenth century into a scenic and picturesque construction of design Juvarriano, with four series of terraces and galleries that follow the slope of the hill. The castle has been owned since 1958 by the Feltrinelli family^[6]
  

The bond of the country with the Feltrinelli family was reiterated on 13/09/2025 with the initiation by the Municipality of a central street in Inge Feltrinelli^[7]

• Parish church of San Giorgio, in Zanco: dating back to the 16th century, in a panoramic position
• Church of San Raffaele, in Lussello: inside you can admire frescoes by Raffaele Panizza and the 18th century

Below is a table relating to the administrations that have succeeded one another in this municipality.

• 
  Panorama of Villadeati from Zanco
• 
  Church of San Remigio
• 
  View of Villadeati Castle
• 
  Parish Church of Zanco
• 
  Panorama from Lussello, hamlet of Villadeati