Italian Castles Turn to Destination Weddings to Fund Heritage Preservation
To finance their art collections and maintain their architecture, five historic Italian castles and palaces are embracing the trend of destination weddings. This practice originated with Castello Orsini-Odescalchi in Bracciano, which held its inaugural celebrity wedding in 1949, featuring notable couples like Ramazzotti-Hunziker and Cruise-Holmes. The 13th-century Castello di Torre in Pietra, adorned with frescoes by Pier Luigi Ghezzi, is in the possession of Senator Luigi Albertini's descendants. Meanwhile, Prince Ferdinando Del Drago introduced Palazzo Del Drago in Bolsena as a wedding venue. Castello di Piovera in Alessandria has facilitated civil weddings since 1967, and Castello di Roccavaldina in Messina, a former Roman post, underwent its latest restoration in 2000 by the Nastasi De Spucches family.
Key facts
- Five Italian historic properties use destination weddings to fund conservation.
- Castello Orsini-Odescalchi in Bracciano hosted the first celebrity wedding in 1949 for Linda Christian and Tyrone Power.
- Castello Orsini-Odescalchi features frescoes by Antoniazzo Romano, a hanging Italian garden, and a museum.
- Castello di Torre in Pietra dates to the 13th century and has frescoes by Pier Luigi Ghezzi.
- Castello di Torre in Pietra produces DOC wines and houses the Osteria dell'Elefante.
- Palazzo Del Drago in Bolsena was designed by Simone Mosca and Raffaello da Montelupo, with frescoes by Prospero Fontana.
- Castello di Piovera has been open to visitors since 1967, guided by Count Niccolò Calvi di Bergolo.
- Castello di Roccavaldina in Messina was once a Roman post and Norman-Swabian fortress; Caravaggio stayed there.
Entities
Artists
- Antoniazzo Romano
- Pier Luigi Ghezzi
- Ferdinando Fuga
- Simone Mosca
- Raffaello da Montelupo
- Prospero Fontana
- Luca Della Robbia
- Caravaggio
- Linda Christian
- Tyrone Power
- Romina Power
- Ramazzotti
- Hunziker
- Tom Cruise
- Katie Holmes
- Martin Scorsese
- Isabella Rossellini
- Luigi Albertini
- Nicolò Carandini
- Ferdinando Del Drago
- Tiberio Crispo
- Paolo III Farnese
- Niccolò Calvi di Bergolo
- Nastasi De Spucches
Institutions
- Artribune
- Castello Orsini-Odescalchi
- Castello di Torre in Pietra
- Palazzo Del Drago
- Castello di Piovera
- Castello di Roccavaldina
- Osteria dell'Elefante
- Castel Sant'Angelo
- Palazzo Montecitorio
- Regione Sicilia
- Soprintendenza di Messina
Locations
- Bracciano
- Rome
- Italy
- Fiumicino
- Torre in Pietra
- Bolsena
- Viterbo
- Alessandria
- Piovera
- Roccavaldina
- Messina
- Sicily
- Aeolian Islands
- Peloritani mountains