A home born as a wedding gift
In 1827 Princess Luisa Dal Pozzo della Cisterna was given this large estate on Lake Maggiore by her husband. This is where the story of Casali della Cisterna begins.
The Dal Pozzo della Cisterna
The Dal Pozzo della Cisterna were one of the oldest and most prestigious families of the Piedmontese nobility. Their documented origins go back at least to the 12th century, with Guido Dal Pozzo, recorded in 1194. Over the centuries the house acquired several noble titles, becoming a princely family in 1670.
Among its most illustrious members stands Maria Vittoria Dal Pozzo della Cisterna, born in 1847, daughter of Prince Carlo Emanuele Dal Pozzo della Cisterna and Louise de Mérode. Orphaned of her father in 1864, she inherited the family’s estate and titles. Remembered as “the Rose of Turin”, she was known for her culture, her seriousness and her charitable work.
On 30 May 1867 she married Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta and son of Victor Emmanuel II. The wedding was celebrated at the Hunting Lodge of Stupinigi. Their union is remembered as a love match, which was uncommon among the dynastic alliances of the time.
The marriage produced three sons: Emanuele Filiberto, Vittorio Emanuele and Luigi Amedeo, who became famous as the Duke of the Abruzzi. When Amedeo ascended the Spanish throne in 1870, Maria Vittoria became queen consort, a role she held until her husband’s abdication in 1873.
She died in Sanremo on 8 November 1876, at only twenty-nine. With her passing the family line of the Dal Pozzo della Cisterna princes came to an end, while the titles and descendants continued through the Savoy-Aosta.
A curiosity about the coat of arms
The coat of arms carries the Latin motto Turbida nunquam, “never cloudy”. Two dragons hold a well and guard it: as long as they keep watch, the water inside can never become cloudy.
The well echoes the family name itself, Dal Pozzo (“of the well”), and clear water is what the dragons protect. That is why the motto became the symbol of the house.
Two hundred years of history
From 1827 to today: we are celebrating two centuries of a home born from a wedding gift.
The origins
The first documented trace of the Dal Pozzo family is Guido Dal Pozzo, recorded in this year.
The wedding gift
Princess Luisa Dal Pozzo della Cisterna (1806–1867) is given the large property by her husband, Duke Ferdinando Arborio of Gattinara. Her surname gives us the name “Casali della Cisterna”.
Two hundred years later, a celebration
We are celebrating two hundred years of history. The old estate is now called Villa Claudia dei Marchesi Dal Pozzo, and it is divided in two: Villa Claudia and the Relais Casali della Cisterna.
The villa, the gardeners and the sailors
The villa was in the past, and still is today, the summer residence of the Dal Pozzo marquises. The two buildings from which our Relais was created were the homes of the gardeners and the sailors who once worked for the marquises.
