Property for sale in Barolo, Piedmont, Italy

On top of a rocky spur overlooking the beautiful landscape of Langhe (a unesco World Heritage Site), incredible late-19th-century Neogothic castle currently working as a hotel Result of a masterful renovation carried out with great care and love by the current owners since the 1960s, the castle (with its annexes) includes nowadays a total of 25 bedrooms and a restaurant The private wood (roughly 2.0 ha) is an excellent spot for truffles but a project to convert this plot of land into a Nebbiolo/Barolo vineyard has already been approved (as it was in the past).
The underlying town offers all the necessary services (supermarkets, pharmacies, post office, banks…) and other centers of Northern Italy are easily reached in less than two hours (Barolo, Alba, Asti, Turin, Acqui Terme, Casale Monferrato, Genoa, Milan…).
The closest airport is the one in Cuneo (33km; 40’) but the terminals in Turin, Genoa, Milan and Bologna are equally convenient and easily reached by car.

Description of the buildings
The castle (2,436 sqm – 26,211 sqft, 15 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms) is made up of two wings, fully communicating but dating back to very different periods. The original section is the hotel with the bedrooms and bathrooms for the guests, while the 1970s part is occupied by huge event halls, a restaurant and a huge solarium rooftop terrace.
- Ground floor historic cellar, pantry, two ample restaurant halls (over 500 sqm in total), bar, laundry room, dressing room for the staff and two 60-sqm balconies.
- First floor event hall (560 sqm – 6,025 sqft), professional kitchen, bar, three event rooms, hotel reception, hygienic services, terrace and balcony.
- Second floor seven bedrooms with bathroom, suite N°1 (two bedrooms, entrance room and bathroom), suite N°2 (two bedrooms, entrance room and bathroom), closets and ample solarium terrace (560 sqm – 6,025 sqft);
- Third floor suite N°3 (two bedrooms, entrance room and bathroom), suite N°4 (two bedrooms, entrance room and bathroom), closets and solarium terrace.

The old gateway to the stables (100 sqm – 1,076 sqft, 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom) is nowadays a peculiar guesthouse. The two towers are connected by an archway (the old carriage door). The eastern tower is basically a staircase connecting all the floors of the building. The western tower (on three floors just like its twin) accommodates two bedrooms (ground and second floor) with a bathroom in between (first floor). Right above the archway connecting the towers is a beautiful windowed corridor on the first floor and, above it, a balcony connecting the two towers.

The old stables (810 sqm – 8,715 sqft, 8 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms) with the servants’ quarters, located at the southern edge of the spur, date back to the Middle Ages and offer a breathtaking 270-degree view over the surrounding countryside. The building is currently used by the owners as a private residence and is laid over four floors.
- Basement cellar, kitchen, dining room, pool room, music hall, wardrobe, boiler room and bathroom. Descending a stone staircase one can reach an infernot dug in stone, once used as an ice room.
- Ground floor entrance room, two bedrooms, bathroom, living room, bedroom/office and garage. On the southern and western side there is a 30-sqm balcony with a beautiful view.
- First and second floor
- Eastern apartment (210 sqm – 2,260 sqft): Entrance room, kitchen/dining room, living room, laundry room, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, wardrobe and loggia;
- Western apartment (220 sqm – 2,367 sqft): Entrance/living room, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, laundry room, wardrobe, kitchen/dining room, living room with marble floors, studio and loggia.

Finally, not far from the entrance to the complex, there is a 1960s warehouse (320 sqm – 3,443 sqft) laid over two floors housing a storage rooms for tools, a boiler room for the hotel and the restaurant, an electric cabin, a storage room, a covered garage and a repair shop.

State and finishes
The original castle dates back to the Middle Ages (probably built over a preexisting Roman castrum), but the building was destroyed in the 15th century during the long-lasting war between France and Spain to rule the Italian peninsula. The ruins of the castle rested there for centuries, until in the 19th century they were used as a base to rebuild a new Neogothic-style manor by request of the noblewoman Maria Allara Nigra (nephew of the famous diplomat Costantino Nigra).
The castle was designed by Giovanni Battista Schellino following all the rules of the medieval revival of the late 19th century, to recreate an idealized and fabulous Middle Age, one which never actually existed and merely a fruit of the idealization and love for a fascinating period and its architecture.

In the 1960s, almost a ruin, the building was bought by the current owners who, struck by the beauty of the structure, engaged in a meticulous reconstruction and restoration of the castle. In the same years a new building was adjoined to the western wing of the castle, together with its impressive rooftop paved terrace. This part of the castle is a unique opportunity: It is, in fact, not subject to historic and artistic restrictions, which means one could easily alter the structure and its intended purposes.

In 2016 a new restoration allowed reinforcing the main tower, replacing the original cover of the castle (irreparably damaged) and replacing the old eaves with newer ones made out of copper. Finally, the imposing eagle statue surmounting the main entrance has been replaced with a faithful reproduction made out of bronze.

For over fifty years, the castle is home to a renowned restaurant (inaugurated in 1967) and a prestigious hotel.

Exteriors
The property covers a total surface of approximately 3.5 hectares (8.6 acres). All around the castle is a beautiful tree-dotted park (6,000 sqm) with gardens and an ample paved parking lot for the guests of the structure.
On the southern side, just under the rocky spur and along the slope, there are roughly 1.6 hectares of woodland with a private truffle ground This part of the property was in the past covered in a vineyard planted with Nebbiolo vines, used for the renowned Barolo wine The project forwarded by the owners to bring this plot of land back to its original use has already been approved so the vineyards can be replanted as they were.

Use and potential uses
The castle, thanks to the loving care and a masterful restoration carried out by the current owners, is currently a luxury hotel with ample spaces for events and a huge restaurant. By converting the woodland on the slope one could also start producing wine, exploiting to this end the historic cellar in the property or converting (ideally) the warehouse on the northern side of the complex.