A few kilometers from Ivrea, the Pavone Castle (Castello di Pavone) dominates the hamlet and the flatlands below. At the beginning of the 13th century, the castle went to the Romano family and, several years later, Oberto, the new bishop of Ivrea, got it back. In the 14th century, its first and major reconstruction took place. In the 15th century, the castle was abandoned, but, at the end of the century, Bishop Bonifacio Ferrero gave the go-ahead for new reconstruction: building a staircase, enlarging the residential area, and recuperating the external tower. Wars between Francesco I and Carlo V caused new damage and destruction to the castle, which, following the Napoleonic invasions, was almost completely destroyed. In 1855, the architect Alfredo D'Andrade purchased it for 7,000 lire and began an impressive redesign project, based on studies of castles from Canavese and Aosta. Pavone's enclosing wall was absorbed into the central body of the castle which took on the shape of a ship, while the roof of the Strambino Castle, completely abandoned, was lifted and placed on top of Pavone. For the stables and the construction of the west wing, inspired by 16th century architecture, D'Andrade used terracotta similar to that which was used at Albiano Castle and Ozegna Castle and had decorations created which were similar to those at Strambino Castle. It was also his idea - a bit eccentric - to place a large bronze peacock (in Italian, pavone) facing Ivrea, convinced that the town's name came from it. Several years ago, the castle was turned into a hotel-restaurant and Convention Center.
