The fortress and the rocky spur.

The fortress of spectacular construction, overlooking and flush with the rocky coast on which it stands, was built by the Lombards in 600 BC. C. to control both the dry Rio valley, necessary for supplies, and the Adriatic coast, where the Byzantine ships docked to lay siege to the inland villages. With a historical void we jump to the date of 1525, when a document traces the restoration wanted by Annichino to adapt the defensive structure to the use of firearms. Between 1531 and 1600 Carafa reinforced the walls with a circular tower and, in 1577, he commissioned the Church of San Rosario and the cistern for rainwater. The last modifications were carried out by the de Corvis, between 1600 and 1717, when the drawbridge was demolished and replaced with a fortified entrance gate. Corvo de Corvis is remembered for the death which came at the hands of a peasant who intended to defend his beloved from the Jus primae noctis that he demanded. The Castle was donated by the last owner, Croce Terni, to the Municipality in 1996. The visit starts from the staircase carved into the rock with sloping terraces. Crossing the corridor on the right you will find the sentry tower and the courtyard with the prison tower and a small Angevin chapel. On the highest spur the watchtower in rough stone and brick rises overhanging above the Church of San Piero, dating back to 1568, which shows the Baroque facade, the Romanesque portal and the rotated apse.