Castello di Calendasco

History

The first nucleus of the castle, the receptum, dates back to the early 11th century, while the castle was built in the following century.

Within the walls of the castle was born in 1290 the noble Conrad of Piacenza, whose family was feudal lord bonis et juribus of the Calendasco area.

At the end of the 13th century the castle, whose precise year of construction is unknown, appears to be owned by the Palastrelli and Scotti families.

In 1346, it was destroyed by the Ghibellines who had escaped from Piacenza; it was then rebuilt in the immediately following years by the Guelphs because of its important position in the resistance against the Visconti family.

In 1412 it was, then, entrusted by the duke of Milan Filippo Maria Visconti to Bartolomeo and Filippo Arcelli, whom he appointed counts of the Tidone valley, thus becoming an outpost in support of the castle of Somaglia, located on the opposite bank of the Po River. In the following years the castle would pass to the Confalonieri family, before returning to the Visconti and, then, again, to the Confalonieri, who would retain possession, albeit amidst ups and downs, until the last years of the 16th century.

On January 14, 1482, after several days of siege, the troops of the Duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Maria Sforza, wrestled the castle of Calendasco from Captain Antonio Confalonieri, who had taken refuge inside with his son-in-law Ottaviano Sanseverino. After the siege, however, the castle remained the property of the Confalonieri family, in the person of Captain Antonio Confalonieri. …

Structure

The castle consists of a trapezoidal structure, built entirely of brick and characterized by the presence of Guelph merlons on the curtain line, against which four round towers rise. The structure is surrounded by a moat in which there is no longer the water that was originally found there and is accessible through 3 entrances, two of which have the drawbridge joints, later, replaced by brick bridges. Another entrance, however, called the rescue gate, is via a bridge shaft.

A cylindrical tower overlooks the main entrance to the manor, which leads to an inner courtyard characterized by a double gallery.

Inside there are two large halls with fireplaces, which are the upper caminata magna and the lower caminata magna: both are defined as magne, that is, very large, in some medieval documents. Some rooms preserve wooden coffered ceilings, while on the walls of the large vault located at the entrance are visible, although not in good condition, 16th-century frescoes.

Adjacent to the castle, a century older, is the receptum, also with a raised entrance with its own small entrance attached, with its masonry baptistery still clearly visible; this building also had its own small turret, located on the northwest side and completely ruined. On the same square located in front of the receptum and the castle is the building that contained the stables.