Museo delle Langhe

About the museum

The museum is housed in the castle of Grinzane Cavour, built around the middle of the 11th century on a hill in the heart of the Langhe. The castle belonged to several noble families of Piedmont, among them the counts Benso di Cavour: Camillo Benso di Cavour stayed there and was mayor of Grinzane from 1832 to 1849. The castle is part of the Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato, recognised by UNESCO.

The museum route tells the rural world of the Langhe through the tools used for centuries in the fields and workshops of the area, and through domestic rooms reconstructed between the late 17th and late 19th centuries. One section is devoted to Cavour memorabilia, with documents, original furnishings and a reconstruction of the count’s bedroom.

Among the best-known rooms are the Sala delle Maschere (Hall of Masks), with a ceiling painted in 1547 and decorated with 156 “masks”, and the Sala degli Affreschi (Frescoed Hall), with a rococo vault frescoed in the 17th century, which houses the permanent exhibition “Vino e salute” (Wine and Health). One room is dedicated to the white truffle of Alba. The castle also houses the Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour, opened in 1967, while outdoors extends the open-air museum “In Vigna” (In the Vineyard).

Highlights

• Reconstructed bedroom of Cavour and Cavour memorabilia
• Sala delle Maschere with ceiling painted in 1547
• Sala degli Affreschi and the exhibition “Vino e salute” (Wine and Health)
• Sala del Tartufo Bianco d’Alba (White Truffle of Alba room)
• Rural life and domestic rooms of the Langhe
• Open-air museum “In Vigna” and Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour

Permanent exhibitions

• Museo delle Langhe: civiltà contadina, percorsi etnografici e cimeli cavouriani – Tools from the fields and workshops, domestic rooms from the late 17th and late 19th centuries, and documents and furnishings linked to Cavour’s stay.
• Vino e salute – Permanent exhibition in the Sala degli Affreschi, under the frescoed rococo vault.

Admission & discounts

Free admission also for holders of the Abbonamento Musei and the Torino + Piemonte Card.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Visitors with mobility impairments enter via a ramp on the ground floor up to the Territorio room. Vehicles with a disabled parking permit can enter the park from Via Castello, at the back (intercom or phone +39 0173 262 159 to open the gate). The park has uneven historic paving; toilets for people with mobility impairments, served by a lift, are reached from the park. The open-air museum “In Vigna” is accessible directly from the park.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The castle stands on a hill in Grinzane Cavour, in the Langhe.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant

Restaurant at the castle; the castle also houses the Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour, selling wines and food specialities, with guided tastings with a sommelier.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit