Castelli di Cannero
The Castelli di Cannero are ruins of a castle on two small islands in front of Cannero Riviera in the municipality of Cannobio in Lake Maggiore .
history
The previous buildings of the ruins visible today, the Castelli di Malpaga, were probably built as early as the 13th century. Towards the end of the 14th century, the Mazzardi brothers lived there, five butcher sons from Ronco sopra Ascona , who ruled the town of Cannobio around 1403 and terrorized the population on the coast of the upper Lake Maggiore. Only after the murder of a clergyman did the Duke of Milan Filippo Maria Visconti send an army of 500 soldiers under the leadership of Giovanni Lonati, who besieged the castle and destroyed it to the ground. Nothing is left of the original system today.
In 1441 the island became a fief of Vitaliano I. Borromeo , after whose death it passed to his sons. Between 1519 and 1521 Ludovico Borromeo had the Rocca Vitaliana built on the islets ; he wanted to honor his famous ancestors with the name. The Rocca Vitaliana served as a defense system for the upper Lake Maggiore against the Confederates after the Duchy of Milan had to cede what would become the Canton of Ticino to the Swiss. After Ludovico's death, the fortress was abandoned and began to crumble.
description
On the eastern side, the massive walls follow the cliffs on the shore. Here and there they are surmounted by round towers with remnants of battlements . At the highest point of the island are the ruins of a church.
The restoration work that began before 2010 has been suspended for many years (as of 2018) and the island cannot be visited.
Web links
- Guide to Lake Maggiore
- Lake Maggiore
- History of the island (Italian)
- Irene Grassi: Cannero locks on www.flickr.com
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 46 ° 1 ′ 26 ″ N , 8 ° 42 ′ 19 ″ E