Seminars and company events
Congresses, seminars, training courses, conferences and team-building days for up to 600 people can be organized at the Castello di Chignolo Po, an 18th-century castle palace in the province of Pavia, Lombardy. Every event has exclusive use of the castle, whatever the number of guests or the start time.
The main room is the Salone Imperiale, 45 m long, 11.5 m wide and 4 m high. It seats up to 600 people theater-style or 500 at tables, so a plenary session and a gala dinner can share the same room. The medieval armory, slightly smaller because of its architecture, serves as a second room. Between sessions, groups move into the stable courtyard, the main courtyard, the historic courtyard and the Giardino di Afrodite. The castle team cites many years of experience with congresses, company courses and team building, and a guided tour of the castle makes an easy addition to a program. The site has 300 parking spaces and 10 restrooms, which matters for a large group arriving by car or coach.
Weddings and receptions
The castle is licensed to celebrate civil weddings, and civil ceremonies can take place in the garden, with celebrants available on request. For a religious ceremony, couples use the church of Chignolo Po nearby. Receptions use the Giardino di Afrodite, the Corte d'Onore, the Temple of Ceres and the medieval entrance, and one room can seat all the guests together.
Rooms and capacities
The Salone Imperiale takes 600 theater-style and 500 seated at tables. The armory is smaller, with no stated capacity. Outdoor spaces include four courtyards and gardens. Guided tours show the salone delle feste with its fresco of the Four Seasons, a gallery of salons with stucco work and frescoes in the manner of Tiepolo, the library and the apartment dedicated to Pope Clement XI.
Catering
Food is cooked to order in the castle's own kitchen. Intolerances, vegan and celiac diets are handled on request through the contact form.
History and setting
The oldest part, the Great Tower, is traditionally linked to the Lombard king Liutprand around 740. In 910 King Berengar gave the fortress to the Benedictine monks of Santa Cristina, and in 990 Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury listed it as a stage on the Via Francigena. The Cusani family held the fief until 1796. Between 1700 and 1730 Cardinal Agostino Cusani Visconti, who had served at the court of Louis XIV, had the fortress turned into a palace by the architect Giovanni Ruggeri, which earned it the name Versailles of Lombardy. Napoleon and Emperor Francis I of Austria slept in the same bedroom. A park of over 30 hectares surrounds the castle, with a baroque hunting lodge and a small lake.
Getting there
The address is Via Stazione, 27013 Chignolo Po (PV). The castle lies in the Po plain between Pavia and Piacenza. Milan Linate and Milan Malpensa are the main airports. The office is closed on Tuesdays.
