The volume, symbol of the three-year interdisciplinary project promoted by the CRC Foundation, constitutes a fundamental contribution to the redefinition of the cultural and historical-architectural identity of South-Western Piedmont in the international context and is the work of professors Lorenzo Mamino and Daniele Regis, with Prefaces by Andrew Graham-Dixon and Enzo Biffi Gentili.
The book deals with a theme that is still little known but very fascinating: the Neo-Gothic in the province of Cuneo. In this territory are concentrated some of the main neo-gothic architecture of Italy: Racconigi with its Margaria and the conservatories inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list), the castles of Pollenzo, Busca, Novello, Envie, Marene, the cemetery of Dogliani, the hundred churches, villas, parks and gardens that have the genius of romantic and dark mysteries and novels. A dense interweaving of images, presences and scenes that mark the passage of architecture and culture between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries and beyond.
The book opens with a proper reference to the Neo-Gothic in its cultured and international examples (Strawberry Hills House by Horace Walpole and Kew Gardens in London, the Royal Abbey of Altacomba in Savoy) but also describes a more elusive Neo-Gothic, rural, practical until to examples of contemporary Gothic.
This guide represents a fundamental support - both for the tourist and for the researchers - to discover the neogothic "treasure" guarded by the Cuneo territory: a strong heritage not only of the best known to the public, for their architectural and historical importance, but also of many minor realities that dot the province.
The publication ends with a photographic atlas in strict black and white by Daniele Regis: images of the author to enter into the mysterious and particular atmospheres of the Neo-Gothic.