Malaspina Castle is on the hill dominating Bobbio, an area rich in historical memories. Above it there was the primitive Ligurian-Celtic Roman site, while the castle was built where S.Petri Basilica was once.
Built in 1304 by Corradino Malaspina, during his rule it remained a Ghibelline fortress. Afterwards, the towns rule was handed over to a podestà who put it under the protection of the Viscontis.
The Viscontis then granted it as fief to the Dal Verme family. In 1545 the castle was transformed into a luxury mansion, afterwards it was purchased by several noble families and it finally became a state possession only in 1956.
The external walls, connected to the town wall system, were destroyed throughout the centuries; nothing remains of the dry moat separating the external from the internal walls. Such walls are still visible, together with two drawbridges, on the North-Western and North-Eastern sides. The western side shows remains of the Bishop Tower; S. Petrii Basilica was on its extension, and it was long used by the castle owners as powder-magazine.
The square plan donjon rises in the centre of the area, while a circular plan building was subsequently built on the eastern side, on an ancient rampart.
