Castello di Cariseto: Medieval Hilltop Fortification in Italy
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page8 sections
History
Castello di Cariseto is a medieval hilltop fortification in Italy, in the hamlet of Cariseto within Cerignale, Emilia-Romagna. Built in the eleventh century, it controlled a rocky ridge above the Val d’Aveto and entered written history in 1052, when Henry III, the German king and Holy Roman Emperor, granted the castrum, a fortified stronghold, to the monastery of San Paolo of Mezzano. The monastery later granted it as a fief to the Malaspina, a powerful aristocratic family whose territories included many castles in northwestern Italy.
Imperial grants and Malaspina control
In 1164, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, known as Barbarossa, invested Obizzo Malaspina with Cariseto and other lands in Lunigiana, the Val Trebbia, the Val Staffora, and the Val d’Aveto. The grant cited Obizzo’s “magnificent and illustrious service.” Three years later, when the people of Pontremoli blocked the road to Monte Bardone, Obizzo helped Barbarossa cross the Apennines by dangerous routes and reach Pavia safely. The route passed through Orezzoli, Cariseto, Oneto, Ponte Organasco, and the Brallo Pass, so the emperor may have stayed at the castle during this journey.
Cariseto’s position also drew it into the conflicts between imperial power and the cities of northern Italy. In 1167, Piacenza forced Obizzo to join the Lombard League, an alliance of northern Italian cities formed against imperial authority, and to surrender Cariseto, Croce, Pietra Corva, and Oramala to the city. Cariseto was mentioned again in a 1195 papal bull issued by Celestine III for the monastery of Mezzano, and in a privilege granted by Frederick II, the thirteenth-century Holy Roman Emperor and king of Sicily, in 1220.
The castle later passed to the Da Mileto family before returning to the Malaspina in 1251. In 1266 it became part of the Mulazzo branch of the family. That branch sold Cariseto to the Fieschi in 1540 for 9,653 gold scudi, historical Italian coins.
The 1546 assault and Doria rule
In 1546, the men of Cariseto allied themselves with the Fieschi conspiracy in Genoa. Gerolamo Fieschi attempted to hold the castle against Genoese troops commanded by Paolo Moneglia, whose forces bombarded the stronghold with a bombard, an early gunpowder artillery weapon. When further resistance became impossible, the defenders escaped at night through a tunnel leading to the woods. With help from Gian Francesco Nicelli of Piacenza, they crossed the Aveto and reached the Farnese state, whose ruling dynasty was hostile to the Doria.
After an imperial decree transferred numerous fiefs to the Doria, a prominent Genoese family, Cariseto also came under their control. The Doria retained it until 1797, when feudalism, the system of territorial authority based on lords, dependent fiefs, and hierarchical obligations, was abolished. The fourteenth-century Statutes of Cariseto and the Fiefs of the Val Trebbia regulated rights and duties among lords, their men, and villagers in the Val d’Aveto. The statutes are preserved in the Doria Pamphili Archive in Rome.
Survival and conservation
The central wall and the bases of the towers have been secured. The remaining access installations are severely damaged, and entry to the ruins is prohibited. The municipality of Cerignale initiated a project intended to restore public access to the site.
Remains
Hilltop fortification
Castello di Cariseto occupies a rocky spur above a small group of houses, at approximately 975 metres above sea level, on the left-hand ridge of the Val d’Aveto. The hilltop stronghold was built with stone or rubble masonry. Its plan placed two massive towers with circular bases on opposite sides of a central wall, forming the principal surviving arrangement of the fortification.
Central wall and tower bases
The central wall and the foundations or lower bases of the two towers remain on the rocky spur. These elements have been secured, preserving the main structural outline of the castle. Their position on either side of the wall reflects the defensive organization of the medieval stronghold.
Access works and escape tunnel
The former wall walks, defensive passages along the tops of the walls, together with the staircase and wooden barriers, are heavily damaged. A tunnel once connected the castle with the woods and served as an escape route during the 1546 assault. Access to the ruins is currently prohibited.
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