The upper castle of Barge was built in the first quarter of the fourteenth century by the marquis of Saluzzo, and not for any ordinary reason: it served an anti-Savoy function, in a territory disputed between Saluzzo and Savoy.
What to see
Not much of the castle survives. It was rebuilt several times and then destroyed during the wars between France and Spain. It stands above the village, and it is the position that explains why so many armies fought around here.
Visiting
The date to remember is 1364. In 1363 Amadeus VI of Savoy had crossed the Alps with his troops and stormed the old borgo and the upper castle; the Saluzzo army managed to retake control, however, and only in 1364 did the territory pass definitively to the Savoy, who had the land refortified by men from Chieri and Moncalieri.
Our editors' tip
From the middle of the sixteenth century onwards the history of Barge is the history of whoever wanted this castle. Spanish, French and Piedmontese armies passed and repassed through here precisely in order to control it, leaving destruction and misery behind; the reckoning closed with the plague of 1630, which emptied the region.