The Riva Castle. On the right bank of the Nure torrent, between the watercourse and the road that goes up the lower Nure Valley, the Riva Castle stands out, 18 km from Piacenza, in the Castelli del Ducato circuit in Emilia Romagna. The stronghold of Riva was born in ancient times as a military outpost to control the passage over the territory, towards the sea, through the Val d'Aveto towards Liguria, the Val Taro towards Lunigiana and towards the Po Valley where the watercourse begins.
The story in brief. The Riva Castle, of typical medieval construction, dates back to 1277 as attested by the inscription MCCLXXVII fuit factum hoc castrum, carved inside the manor, and its construction is due to the Del Cairo family of Piacenza, who in 1323 handed it over to Anguissola, appointed by Duke Visconti in 1468, counts of the fiefdom. In 1567 they sold it to Duke Ottavio Farnese who elevated it to a marquisate and gave it to Paolo Vitelli, one of the captains in his service. In 1703 Riva passed to Cesare and Carlo Maggi and then to the Cusani of Milan. In 1778 it was sold to the Sforza Fogliani and, then, to the Scribani Rossi. Between the 19th and 20th centuries, the Roman prince Emanuele Ruspoli bought it.
Source: Castles of the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza, Guastalla and Pontremoli