Vicolungo Castle

Vicolungo Castle, locally known as Castello di Vicolungo or Castello Sforzesco, lies in the village of Vicolungo, in the Novara province in the Piedmont region in Italy.

At first Vicolungo was a simple square rural castle. The date of its foundation is unknown. During 1452 and 1453 it was attacked several times. To strengthen it the robust square keep was built in one of its corners between 1453 and 1464 at the behest of Antonio Rabozio, supporter of the mighty Sforza family and vassal of the Biandrate Counts.

In the 16th century it was bought by the Gritta family. They restored the castle after a heavy attack had damaged it in 1522. After the mid-17th century property of the castle passed from the Grittas to the Caccia family while a part of the castle went to the Ospedale Maggiore hospital which was located in the city of Novara. In 1744 the Count of Caccia sold his part of Vicolungo Castle to the hospital after which the castle was turned into a farm.

In the mid-19th century the castle was restored, which significantly modified its appearance.

Vicolungo Castle is now private property and it can sadly not be visited. Too bad, I am very curious about the interior of the beautiful keep.

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