Montechino castle dates back to the 12th century. It was built to defend Riglio valley. Its first owners were the Confalonieri, who came to Piacenza at the end of the 11th century, then in 1393 Gian Galeazzo Visconti gave the Confalonieri the rights to hold the fief in Piacenza province. In 1492 they sold the castle to the powerful Nicelli family, masters of Nure valley. From 1842 the castle passed on to Marazzani counts. In 1944 it housed the “Ursus” branch of partisans in Arda valley. In 1955 it was eventually bought by Monsignor Stefano Fumagalli, priest of San Polo who gave it as a gift to the nuns in 1957. They transformed it into a retirement home, which over the last 25 years has been attentively restored taking into account its original structure.
The castle is on Mount Occhino, overlooking the Riglio stream. The fortress has a rectangular plan with square plan corner towers (one of which with guelph crenellation) and is perfectly preserved. Also the drawbridge slots are very interesting.
Official Tourist Information Site of the Piacenza local editorial office
Menu
