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Grinzane Cavour Castle in Piedmont may have been built in the 13th century or around 1350. The castle includes a large tower, which is thought to be the most ancient part of the construction; the rest of the body has similar features, and therefore it is likely that it was built in the same age.
In the 15th century, the castle and the surrounding were owned by the marquis of Busca, whose heraldic symbols have been found in some rooms, under later plasterings. It was later under several lords, the most famous of which was, in the mid-19th century, Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour, who resided here starting from 1830. Cavour restored the construction and improved the vine cultivations in the area. In 1832 he became mayor of Grinzane, a position he held until 1849. Cavour was also known as the architect of the Unification of Italy.
The castle currently houses an ethnological museum with original furniture items from the 19th century, and rooms dedicated to Cavour's stay and to Italian wine production. The castle also contains the Cavour Regional Enoteca, created in 1967 to showcase the wines of the famous Langhe region of Piedmont.
The castle has a rectangular plan and a massive appearance, with a large keep, occupying a whole wing, and a U-shaped structure with a series of turrets: two square and two rounded, the latter, added in the 16th century, being pensile.
There are a series of rooms, one of which, called Sala delle Maschere ('Masques Hall'), has a ceiling decorated with 157 panels featuring coat of arms, animals and allegory images celebrating the marriage of Pietrino Falletti, who owned the castle in 1517.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.