Sanfrè

The town is dominated by the thirteenth-century castle.

Nothing is left of the ancient structure, because it was burnt in the siwteenth century by the Spanish; the building that can be seen today is a reconstruction, built in the shape of an arixtocratic house with ramparts and a protected passage to the parish church.

The ancient parish church, dedicated to the Trinity, still shows a part of the romanic apse, while the new parish church dedicated to saint Peter and Paul was rebuilt at the beginning of the eighteenth century for the marquis Isnardi, lord of Sanfré.

Interesting are also the churches of the Battuti Bianchi and the Battuti Neri.

The first was still standing in the sixteenth century, and there during the Christmas holidays a crèche is realized.

In the commune there’s the interesting “Motta degli Isnardi”, still showing the original sixteenth-century structure. Interesting is the three-floor tower.

History

The ancient town is referred to in some documents dating from the XI century as “Castrum Sifridi” or “Sigfridi”.

Maybe the name comes from S. Eufredo, Benedictine monk martyred there.

The De Brayda family bought it in the thirteenth century, and sold it again at the end of the same century to the Isnardi, who shared it with the Roero family from the XIV century until 1572, and the family ended in 1770.