The History

The castle is situated on the western frontier of Ivrea territory, bordering with Dora Baltea river on east. Its history, such as the village of Banchette one, has always been closely related to the history of Ivrea, following its fate during the Middle Ages. The castle was built on a morainic island to control the way going from Fiorano to Ivrea, passing beneath the Mount Liggiero. The building dates back prior to the XII century, but the site has probably been a Romans’ fortress before. Later enlarged with a tower in order to increase castle defense, it was damaged in many times by soldiers of fortune and Spanish and French soldieries, up to be reduced to some merlon walls in the middle of 1800. This is the age of renovation, when the Pinchia family, who obtained the earl’s title fromVittorio Amedeo II in 1722, restored the ruins left. The last and most known representative of the family was Emilio Pinchia, politician, famous writer and poet, to whom the king granted in 1904 the title of Count of Banchette. At the end of XIX century, the Count wished to realize a residence divided into many different locations suitable for both representation and many families residence purposes, entrusting the renovation to Ottavio Germano, collaborator of the well-known Alfredo D'Andrade, who gave the castle the current structure.

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