The castle of Riomaggiore is a historic building located in the upper part of the historic center of Riomaggiore, in the Cinque Terre, in the province of La Spezia. Originally used for defensive purposes, then converted into a cemetery, today the site is used by the local municipal administration as a conference room and cultural center.
HISTORICAL NOTES AND DESCRIPTION
According to historical sources, a first defensive building was built by the Marquises Turcotti in 1260 [1], lords of the village of Ripalta near Borghetto di Vara, on the ruins of an existing site (called “castellazzo”) near the hill of Cerricò [1].
After the domination of Count Nicolò Fieschi, a new castle, located on the hill that divides the Rio Maggiore valley from that of Rio Finale, was definitively completed by the Republic of Genoa in a period between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries [1].
With the advent of the French domination of Napoleon Bonaparte, and therefore with the Ligurian Republic, the internal area of the fort was filled with earth and used for the burial of the local dead [1].
At the end of the twentieth century the entire complex will undergo a general recovery, converting the area to a cultural center [1].
The structure has a quadrangular shape, with two large and squat circular towers.
