Manta lies a few kilometres from Saluzzo at the foot of the hill overlooked by the town’s castle. Acquired in 1984 by the Fondo Ambiente Italiano, or Italian Environmental Fund, the manor took on its present appearance in the fifteenth century, when it was transformed from a medieval stronghold into an elegant palace.

 
It contains one of the masterpieces of secular late Gothic painting, the Sala Baronale, decorated by an anonymous painter known as the “Master of the Manta” with elegant figures from the cycle of the Prodi and the Heroines and the scene of the Fountain of Youth. Unique testimonies of the chivalric culture of the time, the frescoes, painted around 1420, were commissioned by Valerano, the natural son of Marquis Tommaso III. Created in the heyday of the court of the Marquis of Saluzzo, their purpose was to exalt the virtues of the members of the family.

During the guided tours in the castle, in addition to the Sala Baronale, visitors can admire: the Sala delle Grottesche, a fine example of late 16th century Mannerist style, the Sala dei Trofei di Caccia, hosting a display of hunting trophies, the large kitchen, and the cellars dug into the rock, recently restored. Nearby is the ancient Chiesa di Santa Maria del Castello, where the family of the Marquises attended Mass.

On the way down from Via del Castello, you can see one of the symbols of the city, the Campanile dei Rovi, the austere watchtower transformed in the late nineteenth century into a bell tower with a large clock attached. Once in the centre of the village, you will find the Chiesa Parrocchiale di Santa Maria degli Angeli and Santa Maria del Monastero, one of the oldest religious monuments in southern Piedmont, thought to date back to the end of the 11th century. The Santuario di San Leone Magno, located on the hill that divides the territory of Manta from that of Saluzzo, is dedicated to the patron saint of the town, to whom the locals are particularly devoted.