The castle sits on a knoll above the village, and the village has closed in around it: the quadrangular block with its towers was raised by the marquises of Clavesana in the eleventh century. From the fourteenth century it was a Del Carretto residence — in 1326 Enrico moved the seat of the marquisate here — and in 1672, after a long siege by Genoese troops, it came out badly damaged.
What to see
What you see from below is the outline: walls and towers set on the rock, with the village houses ranged in a circle underneath. From the top, instead, the village and the whole Neva valley open up. The castle has changed hands several times — Del Carretto of Balestrino in 1844, Malco in 1879, Del Conte since 1997, who had it restored.
Visiting
It is privately owned and not open, except during the cultural events held once a year; what remains is the du Castagneu path, a loop that crosses the village and goes right round the castle. Tradition places Bastian Contrario here, the Piedmontese mercenary who raided Genoese convoys from the castle — and, when it suited him, his own side's too — and who is said to have died in 1672 in the explosion of the powder magazine: the Italian expression comes from his name.
Our editors' tip
The castle looks better from a distance than from close up: take the du Castagneu path and stop on the side above the drop, where the outline of the keep and the village houses fall into the same frame.