The final blow was an act of revenge. Between 1629 and 1630 the marquis of Grana, Felice Carretto, had what remained of the castle of Altare pulled down, striking at the Gonzaga rule that then held the area. The post was already in poor shape: between 1612 and 1618 the hill had ended up in the middle of the fighting between the soldiers of Savona and the troops of Monferrato and of the Gonzaga of Mantua. According to some sources the building went up somewhere between the eleventh and the twelfth century, and it served to watch rather than to defend. Part of the feudal domains of the Del Carretto family along with the village, it followed the fortunes of Altare under the marquisate of Monferrato.
What to see
What stands today is a ruin, on a hill northeast of the town, in a half-raised position 424 metres above sea level. It is not a mountain altitude, and that is precisely the point: it was enough to keep an eye on the valley without moving away from the houses.
The layout consisted of a central tower and three orders of walls. Those rings were not only a way of multiplying the defences: in time of danger the population climbed up here and found shelter and protection between one circuit and the next. A castle of refuge, then, rather than a lordly residence. Today what reads best are the stretches of masonry and the lie of the ground, and piecing the whole together takes some attention.
Visiting
There is no ticket office and no opening time: the site is an open-air ruin and the climb starts from the village, heading northeast. Closed shoes and a little care are needed, because the ground among the remains is uneven and in summer the vegetation covers much of the masonry. Anyone looking for an intact monument will be disappointed; anyone looking for the reason this valley was settled will find everything they need.
Our editors' tip
We suggest coming out of season, with the trees bare: between November and March the walls emerge from the brambles and the course of the three circuits is far easier to make out. We always bring a map of the area with us: from up there, with the village below, you grasp at a glance which road the castle was meant to watch.