The salita della Motta is the stepped street that climbs from Orta between the old palaces, and this building stands exactly at the top, where the street ends and a paved space opens out with its balustrade of little stone columns. In a village made entirely of steps, a flat open space is a luxury, and that is why the palace is there.
What to see
It is a noble residence of the late Renaissance, restored in 1591. You reach it by a wide stone staircase; of stone too are the window frames and the main portal, which carries the family arms on its keystone. The portal is not at the centre of the front, and that is the clue that the building was born from the joining of two different bodies.
The second body, lower, has a service door and a terrace reached by a stair in three flights. On the façade traces of frescoes remain: you can still see the great painted cornice of the central body and the medallions above the second-floor windows. Behind lies an Italian garden set out on four levels linked by stone stairs.
Visiting
The palace is private property used for events: the forecourt and the façade can be seen from the street at any time, while the interiors and the garden depend on openings, which need checking. A quarter of an hour from outside.
Our editors' tip
Once at the top, turn round. From here the salita della Motta is seen all at once, framed between the fronts, and you grasp how Orta is made: a village on a slope, with the houses leaning on the hillside and the lake appearing in pieces between one palace and the next. It is the view this palace bought itself with its position.