I need to return to Ivrea – I have yet to explore the city, staying for one night on the outskirts. I drove through, and it’s quite impressive, with a lot of depth and beautiful architecture. Founded in BC 100 by the Romans on a settlement of a previous era there are two main areas of Ivrea: the Ancient City and the Industrial City (a model city of its time, an interesting site in and of itself). 

I made a stop for the night at *Castello di Pavone – a striking site both from the roadway and up close. The castle was built between the 9th and 11th centuries; it was originally a fortress placed on a hill to the south of the current Ivrea downtown area. There’s definitely a “haunted castle” vibe to the place – while the interiors are impressively restored, the staff is largely absent. Dinner was okay, breakfast extremely marginal. It’s affordable though – if you want to stay in a castle, this is an in-reach way to do it.