Castello di Agazzano

Of the original castle, located on a rather impervious coast formed by the Rio Canto, in the upper part of Piozzano, few traces remain in poor conservation conditions after the division of the entire complex into various properties and the consequent transformation for residential use[1 ]. Of the original structure there are some stone, pebble and brick wall structures, which retain arched windows and, inside, rooms with wooden coffered ceilings

Today the fortress represents a synthesis between the austerity of medieval defensive architecture and the elegance of the Renaissance stately home; surrounded by a garden built on the ancient moat, it has a rectangular plan with two round towers at the corners of the facade; the internal courtyard is surrounded on three sides by a loggia. The oldest part, built in the 13th century, well before the advent of the Scotti, was part of a complex of watchtowers, very numerous in an area between valleys contested by lords and crossed by bands of adventurers. The toll tower was built later to collect tolls from those who went to the market to sell animals and foodstuffs. The large garden is populated with stone statues depicting the Olympian divinities: it connects the fifteenth-century fortress with the villa built at the end of the eighteenth century in a real setting.