The Ricetto di Ghemme Castle was built between the 11th and 15th centuries on the initiative of Ghemme’s inhabitants to defend themselves from the forays and sackings of the French and Spanish, as well as to serve as  a shelter for the local population.

Originally, the castle was surrounded by a moat and protective outside walls that were about four metres high, with Ghibelline battlements, still partially visible today on three of the four sides. Access to the defensive site, which covered a total surface area of 12.000 square metres, was via a keep with a draw-bridge; in the north-west and south-west corners were two small, cylindrical towers, of which only one remains, while the outer walls are still visible.

Inside there are many different buildings constructed in river pebbles laid in a herring-bone pattern, spaced out with courses of bricks. The houses, grouped around small courtyards, have a graceful appearance: the ground floor, accessed by a round-headed arch, was principally a warehouse for storing provisions, especially wine; the living quarters were on the first floor. Nearly all the houses have an attic under the roof, once used as a grain store.

Despite heavy intervention during the 18th and 19th centuries, the castle-ricetto of Ghemme is one of the best-preserved in Piedmont; still today, the fine Ghemme DOCG Wine is produced and aged in the cellars.