Castello Malaspina Fieschi Doria - rudere

15060 Carrega Ligure (AL)
Monte Carmo
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The castle of Carrera Ligure, standing above a rocky outcrop of Mount Carmo (1193 m), dominates the town. The first documented information on Carrega appears in 1153, but the fort probably dates to an earlier time. It owes its origins to the bishops of Tortona who were the first feudal lords to exercise jurisdiction over the territory. In an imprecise time, but certainly prior to the year 1000, the bishops enfeoffed the castle to the Marquis of Gavi and Parodi and later to the Marquis Malaspina. It is not a true fortress, but rather a building with multiple functions, namely fortification and together religious institution in close connection with the Cistercian monks of the grange of Magioncalda. Built in the typical Ligurian style in the early Middle Ages, it stands in a strategic place on the ancient mule track that intersects the Apennine ridge at the Capanne pass. It rises and is set in the cliff: it does not present great works of fortifications, because totally unnecessary. No moats and no different orders of walls. Total simplicity: a massive tower and a bastion. The cliff had the function of making the fort totally secure and impregnable. It is partly rectangular and partly semi-circular in shape towards the outside; at one of the ends, towards the south, stands the massive tower. Following recent restoration work managed by the Town Administration to enhance the area of the castle, the tower is now the cistern for the water reserve.