Castelvecchio Ruins

Currently blocked due to danger of collapse (07.06.2017)

The ruins of Castelvecchio are immersed in the dense forests of turkey oaks, oaks and holm oaks. The paths leading to it, which have now become paths, are covered with herbs and mosses. All ruins are surrounded by silence. Of this once vital village, the foundations of several buildings remain today, having been subjected to non-scientific excavations (using non-stratigraphic systems) for several decades. Thus, many houses were made visible, the remains of two mills with large stone mills, warehouses and ovens.Access to the village is from the tower of the keep, where the drawbridge and access door once stood. The keep is badly damaged and consists of a massive square tower. The main street of the castle starts from the keep. All the houses overlooked it.The road culminates at the Church of San Frediano. The Church of San Frediano is the only building in the village that has preserved the perimeter walls. The apse is still standing, in which you can see traces of the frescoes from 1275.Near the church there is also a monumental water collection tank with a capacity of up to 60,000 liters.The whole village is still surrounded by the walls from 1208 . The walls were built with the local Pietra di Castelvecchio, quarried near the town; Castelvecchio stones were also exported to nearby towns.Of the towers that make up the walls, the north tower, integrated into the keep, and the south tower, destroyed both by lightning and the passage of time, still stand. In the southwestern part of the hill there is still an almost completely preserved tower.

Unfortunately, the medieval settlement/castle is currently not open to the public but can be seen from afar 🏰