The medieval fortified complex of Salto stands on a rise commanding the hamlet. It is not a whole castle: what remains is the stone tower and, inside the walled enclosure, the chapel of San Pietro. The ruins are visible from below and still trace the outline of what was there.
What to see
The building belonged to the Silvesco family, counts of Salto and co-lords of Cuorgnè, and later passed to minor vassals, the Grassi and the Aira. It is the typical trajectory of Canavese castles: a house of rank holding the high ground, then fragmentation among smaller families, and finally abandonment once the place no longer defends anything.
Visiting
You reach the hamlet of Salto and look at the complex from outside: these are ruins, not a monument open to visitors, and the value lies in the position. From there you understand why that rise was chosen and not another, which is to say what could be seen coming from far off.
Our editors' tip
The chapel inside the walls is the detail worth keeping in mind: in Canavese fortified complexes the church often stands within the enclosure rather than in the village, because it served the lords first and everyone else afterwards. It is the same logic found in the fortified houses of the plain, applied up here on the heights.