What is Agliè known for?

UNESCO Savoy Residence since 1997, redesigned in the 1640s by Amedeo di Castellamonte for the d'Agliè branch of the Savoy court. The Crepuscolar poet lived and wrote at Villa Meleto on the edge of the commune, where most of his published verse was composed. Terraced 19th-century gardens with a Collino brothers fountain and an Italian-English layout enlarged in 1839.

Agliè is a comune in the province of Torino, Piedmont region of Italy, about 42 kilometers from Torino.

Piedmont · Torino

Agliè

A Canavese borgowhose Castello Ducale, a UNESCO Savoy residence since 1997, has been held by the d'Agliè since 1259.

42 km / 26 mi

Nearest hub (Torino)

2,558

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Agliè sitsin the Canavese, thirty-five kilometers north of Torino on the foothills above the Po plain. The d'Agliè family held the fortified core from 1259. The conversion to a Sabauda residence began in the mid-1600s, when Count Filippo San Martino d'Agliè, favourite of the Regent Christine of France, brought in Amedeo di Castellamonte to add the two parallel galleries that frame the courtyard and the internal Chapel of San Massimo. The castle entered the UNESCO list of Savoy Residences in 1997, fourteen royal sites recognised together as a single serial property. The Collino brothers designed the fountain in the gardens, which were enlarged in 1839 with terraced Italian and English layouts and an eighteenth-century basin showing the Dora Baltea flowing into the Po. Villa Meleto, on the edge of the commune, was the home of the Crepuscolar poet Guido Gozzano, who wrote much of his work there. The town carries the Bandiera Arancione of the Touring Club.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello Ducale
UNESCO Savoy Residence held by the d'Agliè from 1259, transformed in the mid-1600s by Amedeo di Castellamonte for Count Filippo San Martino.
Giardini e Parco del Castello
Terraced Italian and English gardens enlarged in 1839, with a Collino brothers fountain and an 18th-century basin showing the Dora Baltea meeting the Po.
Chiesa di Santa Marta
Confraternity church in the centro storico, decorated with polychrome glazed terracottas from nearby Castellamonte.
Villa Meleto
Country house on the edge of the commune where the Crepuscolar poet Guido Gozzano lived and wrote much of his published verse.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June is the green window for the Canavese hills, when the castle gardens are in full leaf and the morning light works well on the long west façade. July and August are hot in the valley below and the gardens carry the heat; Agliè empties between two and five in the afternoon. September and October are the second peak, with vineyards in the surrounding frazioni turning over for harvest. November through March is quiet. The castle keeps reduced winter hours and many of the courtyard rooms close. The frost on the parterre in January is the photograph the locals send each other.