Museum Network: Associazione Musei d'Ossola
A stroll through the Middle Ages in one of Italy's most beautiful villages.
The Visconti Castle dominates the village of Vogogna and was incorporated into the system of perimeter walls that enclosed it.
The complex consists of a long rectangular building sided by two towers, one with a semicircular plan and the other with a polygonal shape. A mighty wall with an irregular plan, divided into three sectors built in different periods, completes the defence system.
The construction of the castle in its present form, starting with the older polygonal tower, is due to Giovanni Visconti - Bishop of Novara and Lord of Milan - and dates back to the mid-14th century.
Later passed to the Borromeo family, in 1798 it became the property of the municipality, which used it as a prison. Restoration work began in 1990. Today, the castle houses museum spaces dedicated to medieval archaeology and other thematic exhibitions.
Upstream from the Visconti Castle on the Genestredo hill rise the mighty ruins of another fortification, known as the Rocca di Vogogna, dating back to an earlier period, presumably the 11th century.
The castle, which can be reached on foot through the historical centre of the village of Vogogna, can also be visited inside (entrance fee).
The ruins of the Rocca, which are scheduled to be restored, cannot be visited at present, but can be admired from the village or by following the hiking trail that departs from the Castle and passes through the hamlet of Genestredo.
THE CASTLE'S INTERIOR IS NOT ACCESSIBLE; WHEELCHAIR USERS CAN ONLY ACCESS THE COURTYARD VIA THE PANORAMIC LIFT.
Schools: https://www.castellodivogogna.it/didattica/
Entrance fee.
