Town Hall – Municipal Tower – Porticoed Street

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

The Town Hall Building

This building (former De Andreis mansion) was donated by its last owner to the municipality of Demonte in 1880. From this date, it became the official seat of the town hall, once in the municipal tower.

Palazzo Municipale

On the South side of the first floor (facing Via Martiri e Caduti), there is a wide hall and a richly decorated smaller room where the town council meets, while the bigger hall is used for meetings and conferences.

The ground floor has a double colonnade opening onto a little courtyard with a central square basin (XII century) originally in the esplanade of the Angevin Castle.
The other rooms house the offices of the township.

The Municipal Tower

La Torre Civica

It stands on the right side of Via Martiri (coming from Cuneo). Though it is mentioned for the first time in the XVIII century, it can be seen in the map by Giovenale Boetto in the Theatrum Sabaudiae (1666).

Probably it dates back to the Middel Ages and the Bolleris perhaps lived there before moving to the Angevin Castle (now Parco Borelli).

It was the first seat of the town hall.

Porticoed Street

The porticoed street of Demonte (XIII-XVII centuries) is today the main street, called Via Martiri e Caduti per la Libertà.

Once and until the middle of the XIX century the market took place here. The porticoes probably date back to the Angevin period, as proved by some of the capitals. The last porticoes were built in the XVIII century, when the Borelli manor was renovated.

Around the middle of the XV century, Ludovico Bolleris, with an edict, dictated the measures of the buildings overhanging the porticoes.

Via Porticata - Chintane

These are partly in late Romanesque-Gothic style, partly in Renaissance style and in Baroque style.

The first type of porticoes (XIII-XIV centuries) typically have a ground floor with a workshop and a corridor leading to an external wooden ladder leading to the rooms on the first floor.

From this, another wooden staircase led to the loggia. The buildings are divided by narrow alleys where rainwater drained.

Via Porticata - Chintane

The second type – in Renaissance and pre-Baroque style (XV-XVII centuries) – have an inner brick and stone staircase and wooden balconies overlooking the main street.

More radical changes appear in the Baroque-Neoclassical period (XVIII-XIX centuries) The houses have new vaulted rooms with a door or an arched opening. On the first floor the rooms have a staircase leading to the loggia.

The roofs now had a front to back orientation to drain water, This allowed to use the preexistig alleys to enlarge rooms. The loggias are closed. Two stone balconies supported by cantilevered consoles are added.

Even today, the porticoes, thanks to their length and their size are a fine example of urban alpine architecture. They reflect the development of the history of Demonte in the course of 1000 years.

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