The Galleria Carlo Alberto and the Small Mansion

The Galleria Carlo Alberto (XIX century) links the Borelli mansion to the garden; it was built by Count Giacinto Borelli in the first half of the XIX century and it is a two-storey building adjoining the oldest Small Mansion.

Part of the ground floor forms an arch on Via dell’Archivolto, which connects Piazza Statuto to Via Parrocchia; a second part, adjoining the massive wall of the park was once a coach shed. After a careful restoration,it is used today as Tourist Office.

La Galleria Carlo Alberto
La Galleria - Il Piano Superiore

On the first floor, the Galleria Carlo Alberto, a wide corridor of 16.50 by 2.50 metres allowing a good view of Piazza Statuto through five windows on the left; on the right there is the entrance to the Small Mansion.

A recent restoration has revealed XIX century decorations, hidden under many layers of plasterwork.
The door at the end of the Galleria leads to the first terrace of the garden.

La Galleria - Il Palazzetto

Il Palazzetto

The transformation and the restoration of the Small Mansion by Count Borelli stems from the need to create guest-rooms for members of the aristocracy (the King of Sardinia Charles Albert I was his guest in several occasions) with rooms symmetrically distributed around a vaulted hall, called Hall of the Emperors because it is decorated with four medallions bearing the bas-relief profiles of Roman emperors.

La Galleria - Il Palazzetto

The restoration divided some rooms, such as the "prayer room" (where women could attend Mass without going out) overlooking the interior of the church of the Holy Cross.

La Galleria - Il Palazzetto

Next to it, in the large "Stanza degli Uccelli" there is a fine pink marble mantlepiece, very similar to the ones in the Borelli mansion.

The feudal character of the site, and the quality of the structure, support the hypothesis that the Small Mansion belonged to the Bolleris family since the Middle Ages.

Certainly it became their home when, in 1588, the Angevine castle was destroyed, and until the Bolleris/Borelli mansion was built in 1606.

The Palazzetto was also home to the kitchens directly connected with the icehouse during the time of Count Borelli.

Underlying the Stanza degli Uccelli there is the "House of the blacksmith". Refurbished in 2007, it is an interesting example of the everyday life of the population and of an artisan workshop.

At the entrance, on the left there is a little cellar, while on the right there are the forge, the tools to shoe horses, the fireplace and the bellows. Upstairs, there’s a modest but decent bedroom.

Visit all the Itineraries of Demonte

Parco Borelli

Parco Borelli

The gardens lie on the Quaternary hill where, from about 1250, stood the Angevin castle where the Bolleris lived from 1377 [ . . . ]

The Galleria Carlo Alberto and the Small Mansion

The Galleria Carlo Alberto and the Small Mansion

The Galleria Carlo Alberto (XIX century) links the Borelli mansion to the garden; it was built by Count Giacinto Borelli [ . . . ]

Church of the Holy Cross

Church of the Holy Cross

The Confraternity of the Holy Cross and of St. Sebastian was established In 1540 so presumably the church was build approximately at this date [ . . . ]

Parish Church of St. Donatus

Parish Church of St. Donatus

The church of St. Donatus is first mentioned in a document dated 1332. It became parish church in the course of the XIV century [ . . . ]

Palazzo Bolleris / Borelli

Palazzo Bolleris / Borelli

The history of Palazzo Bolleris (now Borelli) starts in 1606 when Marquis Gaspare Bolleris built a mansion at the foot of the feudal castle [ . . . ]

Town Hall Municipal Tower Porticoed Street

Town Hall Municipal Tower Porticoed Street

The town hall the medieval civic tower and the porticoed street are interesting in particular from a historical and architectural point of view [ . . . ]

Church of St. John the Baptist

Church of St. John the Baptist

The members of the Brotherhood of St. John the Baptist comforted the condemned and assisted their widows and orphans [ . . . ]

About Us

About Us

Formed in 2010, pursues, in its institutional purposes, the preservation and development of the historical and architectural [ . . . ]

Contacts

Contacts

For further information, please don't hesitate to contact us
Association of Friends Demonte