An Alpine Palazzo with Frescoed Interiors in Northern Italy Lists for €1.5 Million
Bedrooms: 8 Bathrooms: 10 Interior: 834 m² / 8,977 ft² Exterior: 80 m² / 861 ft²
Amenities: Frescoed reception rooms, fireplaces, music room, games room, library-study, billiards room, fitness area, wine cellar, vault room, garage, terrace with gazebo, private garden
On the market with Italy Sotheby’s International Realty for €1,500,000 / $1,710,000 USD, this historic residence is located in the center of Craveggia, an Alpine village in Piedmont’s Val Vigezzo, close to the Swiss border.
Believed to date back to the 15th or 16th century, the property has been restored as a private residence with 834 m² / 8,977 ft² of interiors, eight bedrooms, ten bathrooms, and frescoed rooms attributed to Giuseppe Mattia Borgnis.
The Borgnis family was one of the historic families of Craveggia, and the residence is believed to have once belonged to them. Its best-known figure was Giuseppe Mattia Borgnis, born in Craveggia in 1701, who became one of the valley’s notable fresco painters. Borgnis worked across northern Italy, Switzerland, France, and later England, including at West Wycombe Park, the Buckinghamshire country house of Sir Francis Dashwood, an 18th-century aristocrat, politician, and patron known for developing one of England’s most distinctive country-house estates.
18th-century frescoed rooms attributed to Giuseppe Mattia Borgnis, the Craveggia-born artist and former owner associated with Val Vigezzo’s reputation as the “Valley of Painters.”
His work helped shape the artistic reputation of Val Vigezzo, which became known as the “Valley of Painters.” The valley’s artistic tradition can still be seen in its churches, chapels, historic houses, and public buildings.
While Piedmont is often known internationally for Turin, Barolo, truffles, and the Langhe, this part of the region is more Alpine than vineyard-facing, with historic mountain villages.
Craveggia is one of the historic villages of Val Vigezzo and one of the most architecturally distinctive centers in the Ossola Valley. Its old village is known for stone roofs, narrow lanes, frescoed façades, decorated windows, coats of arms, and the tall chimneys that rise above its houses. The village also has important religious heritage, including its parish church and treasury, and sits in an Alpine setting close to the Italian-Swiss border.
Craveggia belongs to a different side of Piedmont: a quieter Alpine area near Switzerland, shaped by mountain villages.
The residence is arranged over four levels, with the possibility of installing an elevator. On the ground floor, an entrance hall leads to the main reception rooms, including a living room with fireplace, dining room, music room, games room, study, and kitchen.
The first floor contains the main sleeping quarters, including a master suite with an alcove, sitting room with fireplace, and large bathroom. Three additional bedrooms, each with its own en-suite bathroom, are also located on this level, along with a library-study and laundry room.
On the second floor, a separate independent living area includes a bright living room with arched windows overlooking the valley, a kitchen, four bedrooms, and four bathrooms. The attic offers additional space and could be converted into a further independent residence.
The lower ground floor includes a billiards room with independent access, a games room with fitness area, storage rooms, a vault room, bathroom, technical room, cellar, and garage. Outside, the property has a terrace with a gazebo and a private garden.
Craveggia is around 20 kilometers from Domodossola, 45 kilometers from Lake Maggiore, and approximately 110 kilometers from Milan Malpensa Airport. The area is also served by the Vigezzina–Centovalli railway, which connects Domodossola with Locarno in Switzerland.
All photographs belong to the listing agency. See more on Italy Sotheby’s International Realty.
