Castello di Amorosa facts for kids

Castello di Amorosa is a real castle and a winery found near Calistoga, California. It opened to visitors in April 2007. This amazing castle was built by Dario Sattui, whose family has been making wine for four generations. Dario also owns the V. Sattui Winery, which his great-grandfather, Vittorio Sattui, started in San Francisco way back in 1885 after moving from Italy to California.

The land where the winery stands used to be part of a large property. In 1993, Dario Sattui bought about 171 acres (69 ha) of land. He then spent a lot of money, around $40 million, to build the castle, other buildings, and the winery inside the castle. Construction work began in 1995.

In September 2020, a big wildfire called the Glass Fire caused some damage. The farmhouse on the property was badly hurt, and all the "Fantasia" wine from 2020 was lost. Luckily, the main castle building was not damaged.

Discovering the Inspiration Behind the Castle

After finishing college in 1969, Dario Sattui traveled around Europe for two years in an old van. During this trip, he became very interested in old buildings from the Middle Ages. He took many photos and drew sketches of the places he visited. These included medieval castles, old monasteries, grand palaces, farmhouses, and wineries. These travels gave him the idea for Castello di Amorosa.

Exploring the Castle's Features

Front entrance to the Castello di Amorosa Winery.

The castle has 107 rooms spread across eight levels, both above and below the ground. When it first opened in 2007, it was about 121,000 square feet (11,200 m²) in size. Since then, it has grown even bigger to 141,000 square feet (13,100 m²).

The castle's design and building methods are very true to how castles were built in the 12th and 13th centuries. It has many cool features, like a moat (a ditch filled with water around it), a drawbridge that can be pulled up, and strong defensive towers. Inside, there's a beautiful courtyard, a small church or chapel, and a special room for knights.

The Great Hall

The castle also has a huge great hall that is 72 feet (22 m) long and 30 feet (9.1 m) wide. Its ceiling is 22-foot (6.7 m) high and has a special coffered design. Two Italian artists spent about a year and a half painting beautiful frescoes (wall paintings) in the great hall. There's also a 500-year-old fireplace in this impressive room.

Building the Castle

Wine tasting in the cellar

The stone, iron, and wood parts of the castle were all made by hand. Builders used old techniques from long ago. They used 8,000 tons^{[convert: unknown unit]} of stone found nearby. They also used special paving stones, terra cotta roof tiles, and 850,000^{[convert: needs unit name]} bricks brought all the way from Europe.

Underground Areas

Next to the castle, there's a long maze of caves that stretch for about 900 feet (270 m). Deep under the castle, there's a 2-acre (8,100 m²) cellar where wine barrels are stored. There are also tasting rooms where visitors can try the wines. All the wines made here are sold only at the castle or through their special wine club.

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  A 360° panorama of the Great Hall.

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  The castle as seen from the driveway.

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  A view of the drawbridge entrance.

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  A view of the great hall.

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  A view of knights' chambers.

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  A view of the wine cellar.

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  A view of the castle exterior from moat level.

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  A 400 year old wine press imported from Italy on the castle grounds.

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  Gargoyle at the entrance of the castle

See also

In Spanish: Castillo di Amorosa para niños