The castle stands on the hill of Cavagliano, the hamlet of Bellinzago that looks out over the Ticino plain. It is recorded as early as the second half of the thirteenth century as a possession of the counts of Biandrate; it later came under the political rule of the Commune of Novara, while on the spot the noble Caccia family was building up its property rights.
What to see
The document that captures that situation best is dated 24 May 1324: it names Paolo II Caccia and his son Paganino, members of the so-called pars Rotonda of Cavagliano. The Caccia came to own more than two thirds of the farmland of the place, besides shares of the castle, houses in the village and the patronage rights over the two churches, with the privilege of appointing the parish priest. The fief stayed with them until 1634, when the last heir died; it then passed to the ducal chamber, to other nobles, and finally, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, back to the royal government.
Visiting
In the seventeenth century the structure was turned into a noble residence, and from then on its story is that of many lowland castles: having lost its military role, it became a farm building. Today the main part is a farmstead, the complex is privately owned and in an advanced state of decay: you look at it from outside, from the road climbing to the hamlet, and you do not go in.
Our editors' tip
Anyone coming this far should pair the visit with the church of San Vito, on the edge of the same hamlet, whose apse was frescoed by a follower of Gaudenzio Ferrari. They are two faces of the same lordship: the Caccia appointed the parish priest of the Cavagliano churches, and the church came into their hands in the fifteenth century, when it was enlarged.