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Piagnaro Castle - Pontremoli (MS)Frederick II called Pontremoli “the key and door of the Apennines”. It was a medieval “oppidum” and a market town, a place where the important roads of the mountain passes met, includine the “Via Francigena”. In the 12th and 13th centuries, it was a free town. After the 18th century renovation, medieval and baroque styles combine. The Piagnaro Castle, standing over the hill above the town, was erected around the 11th century to control the network of roads, and it became an integral part of the town’s defensive system.
Its name probably derives from the sandstone slabs plates used to cover the houses, the “piagne”. The complex is on two levels: the oldest around the upper courtyard, dominated by an impressive semi-elliptical shaped keep with autonomous access, while the other nucleus (built later than the 16th century) develops on a lower level and is surrounded by the main courtyard. This important fortification, almost fully restored, since 1975 has been the seat of the Museum of Stele Statues.
Courtesy of APT Massa Carrara
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