Surrounded by a large park, the Costigliole Castle (Castello di Costigliole d’Asti) dominates the town. It was built during the 14th and 15th centuries and only later was it restructured to its present Gothic-like form. Property of the Marquis Filippo Asinari, a politician and refined wine connoisseur, the manor was the home of the Countess of Castiglione who was clever in politics and in relationships and was considered one of the century’s most beautiful women. Since 1994, the castle has been the seat of the Cultural Park of the Grinzane Cavour Prize which, with the support of the Piedmont Region, works to promote all aspects of the territory, developing debate between concrete culture and literature. The castle also houses a National Museum of the Territory, intended as a place to promote the literary, historical, architectural, and anthropological heritage of southern Piedmont. City owned, it houses an international cooking school and, every year, the “the Barbera auction”, which, at this point, has become a not-to-be-missed event for wine lovers.
