Top 6 Castles around Fabbrica Curone

The castle of Borgo Adorno was a fiefdom of the Genoese Spinola family until 1518, the year in which Tolomeo Spinola remained without legitimate children and appointed the children of his friend Agostino Adorno as his heirs.

The castle stands on the left bank of the Curone torrent and opposite the town, on a hill with steep and rugged sides, in a position suitable for controlling the valley below. Currently, the lower part of the massive quadrangular tower remains of the ancient and well-fortified manor. A staircase allows you to reach the access door to the tower, which is located about ten meters above ground level. Once past the door, another staircase allows you to climb to the top of the tower, from which you can see a beautiful view of the Curone Valley. The visit to the tower is suggestive, so it certainly deserves a stop.

An interesting route in the upper Curone Valley is the one that leads to the walled remains of the Brusamonica Castle, a small town about two kilometers from Caldirola. The castle, built on the crest of the mountains above Caldirola, dates back to the feudal era; although it has lost its ancient splendor over time, it still retains a certain charm, if only for its uncertain and mysterious origin. A legend tells that before the castle there was a convent in the same place, probably founded by the monastery of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro of Pavia and destroyed during a night of battle and looting (perhaps by Saracen troops) in the 9th century. This, like any good legend, is not confirmed by historical documents, even if even today the inhabitants of Caldirola, referring to the town of Brusamonica, are accustomed to using the term "convent". Contradictions aside, this castle, with a slope that extended up to Val Borbera and now collapsed, represents an important and concrete historical monument that can today become a destination for pleasant walks.

With the eMTB, it is difficult to reach the site of the remains of the Castle. The path is narrow, steep and in some places there are rocks that block pedaling. Better to go up from Mount Gropà with the eMTB.

In the late Middle Ages, the village was a fiefdom of the Genoese Spinola family until 1518, who built the castle in 1100. In 1518 Tolomeo Spinola was left without heirs and passed as an inheritance to his friend Agostino Adorno, of the Genoese Adorno family. In the 17th century the castle suffered serious damage following a landslide and shortly afterwards the current Botta Adorno castle and stately palace was built in its elegant style, still privately owned. The castle has an elegant Baroque style portal and a chapel dedicated to Saint Caterina Fieschi Adorno, great-granddaughter of Pope Innocent IV and wife of Giuliano Adorno, who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries.

On top of a rocky spur of Monte Carmo, which dominates the village below, stands the Malaspina Castle, also known as Carrega Castle. Although the first documented mention of Carrega dates back to 1153, it is probable that the fortress dates back to an earlier era. The views from here are sure to take your breath away.

Situated on a rocky promontory, the Oramala Castle dominates and overlooks the Staffora valley, one of the most evocative places in the upper Oltrepò.

It is mentioned in ancient papers such as Oramola, curte de Oremale, Rocha de Oremala or curtis and rocae de Oramala and, of the castle, reference is made in the Breviarium of the possessions of the abbey of Bobbio in the century. X. [1] With the gradual fiefdom of the obertenga family starting from 1029, first as level holders of the monastery and then with a lease and freeing contract, half of the court and castle remained with the monastery with the rights and tithes due. It was inherited in the 12th century by the obertengo branch of the Malaspina family. After a passage, in 1157, in the hands of the marquises D'Este and in 1161 of the bishop of Tortona, it returns, in 1164, thanks to Federico Barbarossa to Obizzo I. Towards the end of the twelfth century, with the fortunes of the Malaspina, it sees its moment of greatest splendor, it becomes a center of cultural diffusion hosting Provençal troubadours. In 1474 the fortress was fortified by Manfredi Malaspina, to adapt it to the new defensive needs due to the entry into use of artillery. Out of the flow of history, the fortress remained with the Malaspina family until the end of the 18th century, when the marquises of Oramala, moving downstream, decreed its decline; abandoned, it began to fall into disrepair. In 1985 the Panigazzi brothers bought the castle and began the renovation and restoration of the collapsed parts. In 2005 the Museum of peasant art and iron tools was opened to the public. From 2008 to 2018 the castle was the seat of the Spinofiorito Social Promotion Association and is surrounded by the Literary Park "Dante and the Troubadours in the lands of the Malaspina".