1300

Among the encounters that politics imposed upon the lords of Turin, documents mention during those years a dinner held for the Duke of Bourbon, Count Daricourt, and an admiral from France, and later hospitality for the lords of Coucy and Sismondo Correnti from Milan and his entourage of 100 horses. As in other cases, these are not situations promoted but rather managed by the Acaia who, for diplomatic reasons, offered an ideal location in Turin. Instead, guests who arrived in Pinerolo had an explicit invitation and were part of the preferred network of relations created to consolidate the dominion of southwest Piedmont.

Upkeep of the castle increased for this event, which was celebrated in May, and was organized to remind the new Count of Savoy, Amedeo VII, the guest of honor, of the loyalty of the Princes of Acaia. Many of the most important lords of the age seem related to this event, with their direct presence or by sending gifts: these include Bernabò Visconti, Luigi d’Angiò, Otto of Brunswick and the Count of Geneva, the only guest expressly listed in the treasurer’s books, maybe because he was the only one to stay at the castle of Porta Fibellona in so far as being the brother of Catherine of Geneva, Princess of Acaia starting in 1380.

In the final quarter of the century, the castle did not undergo any important changes, but there is constant modification inside, in the arrangement of the rooms. The novelties include a magna aula on the first floor, a grand hall on the ground floor, for which benches were made to be placed in front of the fireplace, with a footrest, and a records office in the northwest Roman tower with chairs, shelves, and a chest for archiving documents. Moreover, a tannery, a room where lard was made and stored, and the stables are also present.

This document refers to the works carried out at a time when Turin and the Acaia possessions are financed by Count Amedeo VI of Savoy as guardian of Giacomo’s children from his second marriage, who were still minors. This involves a new castle roof, with the purchase of 250 tiles, and a new portico roof for the courtyard, plus the tiled canopy that is replaced and reinforced by an oak wood pillar and other wooden beams. Other minor interventions regard the “lower chamber,” here mentioned for the first time, and the grand loggia in front of the prince’s room.

Some interventions worthy of being mentioned during the time of Giacomo d’Acaia include refurbishing the ceiling of the loggia located in front of the prince’s quarters, for which 1,000 bricks were purchased from an outside kiln, building a room above the kitchen, used as the residence of the Vicar, who previously was housed in one of the four towers, and installing a new floor in stone and not terracotta for the courtyard, so that falling stones or tiles from the roof would not damage the floor.

The logbooks record considerable renovation and embellishment of the main spaces during the mid-14^th century. There are at least three phases of closing off and opening up new windows that, even though preciously decorated, must have been constantly redesigned on the basis of the renovations underway in the rooms and the variations to the layout of the floor. The most important restoration was carried out by 1348, for the wedding between Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca of Savoy, the daughter of Count Aimone, of the first-born branch. (Image: illuminated page, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, ms. lat. 1009, 23v.)

During the decade, numerous interventions of restoration and embellishment of the main castle areas were carried out: the ceilings of the prince’s room and of the grand hall were redone, a new floor for the two Roman towers was installed, new windows and doors were opened up in the rooms of the brothers and of the daughter of Giacomo. In 1346 a room above the kitchen was built, on the south side of the castle, for the residence of the Vicar and was equipped with a peilo, that is, a heater. For the arrival in Turin of the princes, expenses for the transportation from Pinerolo of a tapestry and for the nails needed to hang it are mentioned. Other expenses concern the drawbridge, the fireplace, and new stools with three legs in lathed wood for the grand hall. (Image: tiles adorning a heater, from the castello di Chillon, Lausanne)

Only the king is housed in the castle, while the other components of his entourage, including nobility, are hosted elsewhere. The building is not very spacious and the rooms used for guests are few: usually, if guests are particularly numerous, a group of men is asked to find beds and shelters, sending a part of the guests to the Bishop’s Palace, to convents, or to the best homes in the city. (Image: glass bottle, late 13^th century – first half 14^th century, Museo di Antichità di Torino)

The expenses for the building’s improvement as regards private living are greater than for defense. The treasurer recorded new interventions to the ceiling of the magna sala castri nova, of the kitchen, of the latrines, and of the staircase leading above the grand hall. There are six new doors and three windows in the four towers. There is also mention of a terracotta portico, whose arches could still be those present in the medieval courtyard. In another logbook, there are six brick pillars installed against the walls of the camera castri domini to support the crafted wooden beams, a gift of the Prince Acaia to the bishop of Turin. In 1331 Filippo commissioned portraits in painted wax, including the one of his son Edoardo, for the interiors. (Image: "Camera domini", castello di Chillon, Lausanne)

Found at Pinerolo and placed in the study archive in 1982, this document is enlightening for reconstructing the first decades of the 14^th century and the fundamental building interventions for the service areas, passageways, and living quarters, carried out under the guidance of the magister murator Germano da Casale. The document mentions building two square towers identified as those that flank the Roman towers. The petracocta, terracotta, represents a strategic choice as regards costs and formal ennoblement. Part of the construction material came from local kilns, but the majority came from the Roman walls and buildings that were left in ruins, a veritable open-air quarry for the Porta Fibellona worksite.

The logbooks of the time mention the existence of these two rooms, refurbished because in a dire state of preservation, inside the compound around the Roman gate. Even though identity and importance are not mentioned, this confirms the initial presence of a space for diplomats and openness toward other institutions. In fact, scorned as the official residence, the castle was used by the Vicars, who administered the city on behalf of the prince.

On the evening of July 11, Filippo and his entourage reached the castle in Turin. A banquet was held the following day for the arrival of the French king. The arrival of this illustrious guest led to the sudden transfer from Pinerolo by the Acaia court, but in January of that year a trip to Turin for a banquet had already been included in the logbooks while the prince was traveling to Rome. Evidently his visit was so unusual it deserved being recorded. The choice to pass through Turin on the part of several nobles hosted in the castle of Porta Fibellona is determined by their use of the Via Francigena, preferred during that period with respect to other roads for those traveling from southeast France to Italy. (Image: "Grandes Chroniques de France", Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, fol. 332)

From the preferred location at Pinerolo, Filippo I was forced, for diplomatic reasons, to travel to Turin. He reached the castle of Porta Fibellona one Thursday to prepare for the Count of Luxembourg and his entourage, who were on their way to Rome, the following Saturday; on Sunday he hosted Ludovico of Savoy, who was also traveling to Rome.