Castello di Illasi: A Medieval Defensive Castle in Italy
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page7 sections
History
Castello di Illasi is a medieval castle in Illasi, Italy, established in the tenth century to defend the ancient settlement of Illasi. Its construction developed between the tenth and fourteenth centuries, and the fortress remained involved in the political and military struggles of northern Italy.
Origins and thirteenth-century conflicts
The Montecchi family was the castle’s first owner, and the fortress became the property of this powerful family in the thirteenth century. In 1243, Ezzelino III da Romano, a powerful thirteenth-century lord and military ruler in northeastern Italy, rebuilt and strengthened it.
In 1269, Pulcinella delle Carceri and several exiles from Verona occupied the castle during their conflict with Mastino I della Scala. The Scaliger, or della Scala, family ruled Verona during much of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and Mastino used Illasi as a refuge. In 1279, Pope Nicholas III donated the castle to Niccolò della Scala, Mastino’s son. The grant recognized the Scaliger family’s capture at Sirmione of a group of Albigensians, or Cathars, members of a medieval Christian dissident movement condemned as heretical by the Catholic Church.
Venetian and Pompei control
At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Republic of Venice seized the castle from the Carraresi, the ruling family of Padua, who were allied with Guglielmo della Scala. Guglielmo, an illegitimate son of Cangrande II della Scala, had been elected lord of Verona in 1404.
In 1509, Venice granted Illasi as a fief to its military commander, Count Girolamo Pompei, known as “Malanchino,” in recognition of his military achievements. The Pompei family had held rights in the area for centuries. Girolamo Pompei was credited with capturing Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, and transferring him to Venetian prisons on 8 August 1509, after Gonzaga had set out to conquer Legnago. The castle is privately owned.
Remains
Castello di Illasi is built from stone and brick on a hill enclosed by a defensive wall. The surviving complex combines the compact square castle with the larger enclosure that surrounds the hill and controls access through a single opening on the southern side.
Castle and hill enclosure
Defensive wall
The defensive wall encloses the entire hill on which the castle stands. Built as part of the site’s fortifications, it has a single opening on the southern side. Its stone and brick construction forms the outer boundary of the castle complex.
Square stronghold and cassero
The principal castle has a square plan measuring 10 metres on each side. It is accompanied by a cassero, a fortified inner stronghold or keep within a larger castle complex, which was used by the guard corps.
