Fortified houses “at the foothills of Gran Paradiso”

In the Canavese territory, an important concentration of fortified houses has been identified along the ridges “at the foothills of Gran Paradiso”, belonging to the late medieval “micro-fortification system”. These are mountain areas whose human settlement dates back to earlier periods, but which between the 13th and 14th centuries were marked by conflicts between the Lords of Canavese and the “Tuchinaggio”, the epic popular revolts that in the Soana Valley continued well into the 15th century.

These assets, still identifiable today, are in fact a peculiarity of the Orco and Soana Valleys, as they have left a visible and distinct trace of their strong presence across the territory over time. The remains that survive today are only a fraction of what was once a much more numerous presence of these building types, but what remains still allows for an analysis aimed at defining their characteristics.

The term fortified house represents an aggregation model structured through simple groupings of building blocks starting from a residential tower, usually with a rectangular plan and often not of significant height. Two main types of fortified houses can essentially be identified: the tower type, generally with a small footprint and rising three or four stories above ground, and the “mason” (house) type, slightly larger in plan but generally not exceeding two or three floors.

The tower type is present in two main cases: here in Servino at the “Grand Betum”, at an altitude of about 1460 m, and the one called “Torre Pietra” in Cuorgnè, Vernetti locality, at 620 m above Salto. The two- or three-story fortified houses are instead the most widespread; in particular, the most studied case is that of Pèrtia (the first mentioned in an official document, specifically in Pietro Azario’s “De Bello Canepiciano”) in the municipality of Sparone at 1220 m. Defined as a “castrum” by Azario, it should not be confused with the “medieval castra” of modern historiography. It belonged to the San Martino di Agliè family, feudal lords of the area, and today is in a state of complete abandonment. On the same slope at 700 m lies the fortified house of Casetti in the municipality of Locana. Also worth mentioning is the fortified house of Tirolo in Ribordone at 1290 m, as well as those of Onsino at 800 m in the Sparone area and Pianei at a similar altitude in Locana. In the municipality of Frassinetto, in the Verdassa valley, more precisely in the Fraschietto locality, there is the fortified house called “Ca’ dl’ Cunt”, also known as “Mason dal Count” (“House of the Count”). Still in the Verdassa Valley, in Monteu (municipality of Ingria), there is the so-called “Mason dal Prevan” (“House of the Priest”).

Near Pont and Ingria there are three distinct structures which, although not strictly classifiable as “fortified houses”, suggest through their construction archaeology a medieval (or earlier) origin: the fortified houses of Lutta, Faiallo, and Bisdonio. Finally, many other minor structures should be considered, especially at documentary level, such as the fortified houses of Crotto and Vasario in the Le Bombe locality.
In the area there are also other stone buildings still attributable to the fortified house typology, as well as further traces in buildings of the Upper Canavese region where parts of these structures survive but are no longer readable and therefore difficult to classify.
The assets listed here do not aim to constitute an exhaustive inventory, but rather to stimulate the visitor’s curiosity. Other traces of historical architecture may offer new insights into the phenomenon of micro-fortification south of Gran Paradiso.

Bibliographic references:

• Micaela Viglino Davico, Mountain Fortified Houses in Upper Canavese: what future?, Castellamonte: Lions Club Alto Canavese, 1993
• Marco Cima, People and Lands in Canavese between the Roman Age and the Middle Ages, Nautilus, Turin, 2003.