The Il Meleto of Agliè Villa, called this way because the entrance driveway and the surrounding land, were cultivated as an orchard, it was the summer residence of the poet Guido Gozzano. The Building, dating back to the second half of the 19th century, was property of Senator Massimo Mautino. The villa was donated by the Senator on occasion of the marriage of his daughter Deodata with engineer Fausto Gozzano, and was used as a summer residence for the family after they transferred their residence to Torino. In 1904 Guido Gozzano and his mother started restoration of the building, achieving the result that is still visible today: a villa with balcony on the first floor and a facade with wisteria frescos, according to the liberty style that was becoming popular; there is a surrounding romantic garden and not too distant, the fruit orchard and a pond with the chalet island (demolished today).
Gozzano, during his long stays at the Meleto, which he alternated with stays in Turin, gave life to a great poetic production, initially with D’Annunzio tones, and with bourgeois and realistic irony as well as the Scapigliatura movement tones later on. The elegance and aestethic not only characterise his literary works: his coherence with a life idea that pushed him to merge life and poetry, allowing his character to appear dandy and refined. The famous living room of NonnaSperanza, furnished in liberty style, and immortalised in the poem L’amica di NonnaSperanza (The friend of grandmother Hope).
As a reminder of the great Canavese poet, in the last few years cultural events are organised tied to different forms of artistic expression.