Castle of Costigliole d'Asti, Costigliole d'Asti (Asti), Italy: All year

The first records of the castle date back to the early 1000s, when the emperor Henry III gave the castle to the Church of Asti. The castle was renovated over the centuries particularly in the 14th and 15th centuries, which is reflected in its various architectural styles, including its Baroque, Gothic and neo-Gothic features. The castle had many different owners: the Asinari of San Marzano, the Verasis, the Medici del Vascello, and the Rorá. Several historical figures lived in it, such as Marquis Filippo Asinari, a politician, scholar, and wine expert, and Virginia Verasis, the Countess of Castiglione.

Today, it is used by the Cultural Park of the Grinzane Cavour Prise, the National Museum of the Territory, an international cooking school, and the ‘Barbera auction’.