Top 5 Castles around Cerignale

A beautiful village perched in the Ligurian Apennines. It's worth stopping to see the well-preserved walls of the Malaspina Fieschi Doria Castle, for an excellent coffee at Bar Leon D'oro, and especially for the "Gobeletti" pastries from the Chiesa pastry shop.

http://www.castellodigambaro.it/ The name Gambaro is of Lombard origin and appears for the first time in a diploma of King Ratchis in 747, with which this territory was assigned to the monastery of Bobbio. In the late Middle Ages, Gambaro came into the possession of the Malaspina, a large marquis family originally from Lunigiana that expanded up to the Ligurian-Emilian Apennines. The Malaspina family is responsible for the construction of the current castle (probably at the beginning of 1500), powerful and severe, all in local stone, but also soberly elegant, with the typical Renaissance plan with a central courtyard and four towers at the corners. When the Malaspina of Gambaro died out in 1624, the castle passed to the Farnese ducal chamber and then, in 1687, to the Landi of Rivalta. The Landi, around 1785, sold the castle to the Bacigalupi, a family of Genoese who owned it until the 1930s. During the Napoleonic domination the castle was the seat of the “mairie” (municipality). The members of the Bacigalupi family usually held the position of priest, notary and local administrator. In the twentieth century the castle had various owners, it was the seat of a school and a farm. Finally, from the 1960s it underwent a more serious degradation, abandoned to collapses, demolitions and the removal of valuable architectural elements. The protection constraint was placed by the responsible ministry in 1985. In the last decade it has been restored to obtain a residential and reception place. The town of Gambaro is located in the province of Piacenza, in Alta Valnure at 860 m above sea level, in the municipality of Ferriere, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It is a regional and provincial border area as it borders the provinces of Parma and Genoa. The upper Valnure is wedged to the southwest at the base of the highest mountains of the Ligurian-Emilian Apennines such as Mount Ragola, Mount Bue, Mount Nero, Mount Maggiorasca. From the tops of these mountains on clear days you can see the Ligurian sea. We are an hour's drive from Piacenza and an hour and a half from Chiavari. The village is located four km from the capital Ferriere, on the provincial road n. 654 that leads to Liguria.

Stunning views and panoramas

Very quiet mountain village. The road to get to the top is very well maintained.

Very pretty village with a wonderful view.

The Malaspina-Doria castle is probably the most beautiful castle in the Aveto valley. Located in Piazza del Popolo in the center of Santo Stefano d'Aveto, it belonged to the Malaspina family and Admiral Andrea Doria.

The Malaspina dal Verme di Bobbio castle is a quadrangular construction located in the town, it is located in an elevated position above the park of the same name and is part of the Association of Castles of the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Pontremoli. Since January 2020, the municipality of Bobbio has taken over the management of the castle.

The Malaspina di Gambaro Castle was built by Ghisello, son of the Marquis Pietro, who owned this portion of the family estate. In 1520 it was precisely in this castle that Ghisello was assassinated by his relatives. The Malaspinas received the feudal investiture of Torrio (in Val d'Aveto) and Noceto (near Gambaro, in Val Nure) in 1423. Later this feud was commonly called degli Edifizi, from the name of the locality near Gambaro.