In 1268 Conradin of Swabia came through, and he was not the first big name: the Del Carretto court at Cairo drew troubadours such as Folquet de Romans, Pietro de la Mula and Arnaut Daniel, the one Dante has speak in Purgatory under the name Arnaldo. The castle, also called Del Carretto-Scarampi to tell it apart from the Castellazzo and from the stronghold in the hamlet of Carretto, was built between the 11th and 12th centuries on the height above the town, in the upper Bormida valley. It became the home of Ottone Del Carretto after the paternal domains were split between him and his brother Enrico II, on the death of Enrico I, known as il Guercio, which occurred between 1184 and 1186.
What to see
What survives is rubble, but the position explains the rest: the fortified residence commanded both the town and the trade road climbing towards Cortemilia, Alba and Asti, the so-called Magistra Langarum. It was a strong card to play: in 1214 Marquis Ottone I handed his lands to the Republic of Genoa and received formal investiture back, consolidating his grip on the Bormida valley.
Ownership changed hands repeatedly: in 1322 it went to Manfredo IV, Marquis of Saluzzo, and between 1337 and 1339 to the Scarampi, a family from Asti who adapted the castle as their own residence. The end came with the wars of succession fought between Genoese, French, Spanish and Savoyards: the Savoy siege of 1625 hit the town hard, and by 1627 only ruins were left of the old Del Carretto seat. The Scarampi then moved down into the town, to the palace that carries their name and that since 1972 has housed part of the municipal library.
Visiting
The site is a ruin in a commanding position above Cairo Montenotte, in the province of Savona: you climb from the town, and the climb is already part of the visit because it shows how tightly the castle pressed on the houses. There are no roofed rooms to walk through and no ticket office, so reckon on broken ground and undergrowth. To complete the picture, stop in the town afterwards in front of Palazzo Scarampi and close the circle between the abandoned fortress and the residence that replaced it.
Our editors' tip
We suggest making the climb with a date in mind: 1213, the year popular tradition has Francis of Assisi passing through the court of Ottone I. The story runs that the friar healed the marquis's deaf-mute daughter and that Ottone, in gratitude, had the Franciscan convent built, where the Del Carretto family gained the right of burial. It is a legend and not a document, but it explains well why a castle reduced to a few walls still counts for Cairo.