It was probably built by the Marquesses Arduinici of Turin (it was probably Arduino the Hairless who built the first settlement of "Castrum Avilianae") on the top of Mount Pezzulano at the beginning of the XIth century. This castle was a seat for the royal court and as such it was used by the Counts of Savoy at least from 1137. In the XIIth century Emperor Frederick (Redbeard) destroyed the castle and burnt the town and his son Henry VI brought new destructions at the end of the same century. Thomas of Savoy rebuilt the castle in 1189 and since then it became the residence of an important lord of the Count of Savoy. In 1691, after conquering it, the French Marshal Catinat got it definitively demolished, leaving the remains we see nowadays.