Cremolino was the main feud of the Monferrato branch of the Malaspina marquises, lords of the Lunigiana. The castle was built in the late 13th century, around a tower that dates from the year 1000, by Tommaso Malaspina, who inherited the estate from his mother Agnese, the last heir of the Aleramici Del Bosco marquises.
When the Malaspina line of Cremolino died out at the end of the 15th century, the castle was enfeoffed by the Marquis of Monferrato to the Sauli and Centurione families from Genoa, and from the mid-16th century to the Dorias. At the end of the 18th century it passed by marriage from them to the Serra marquises of Genoa.
Thanks partly to its triple band of walls, the castle was never conquered and as a result its medieval character, with the drawbridge, 14th-century tower and mighty 15th-century keep, has been preserved intact. The bastions of this medieval fortress look out over one of the most beautiful views of the Alto Monferrato and the Alps. The owners live permanently in the castle, which is surrounded by a 19th-century park of tall trees, boxwood topiary, roses, hydrangeas and fish ponds full of water-lilies.
References:The Broch of Clickimin is a large and well preserved, though somewhat restored broch near Lerwick. Originally built on an island in Clickimin Loch (now increased in size by silting and drainage), it was approached by a stone causeway. The water-level in the loch was reduced in 1874, leaving the broch high and dry. The broch is situated within a walled enclosure and, unusually for brochs, features a large 'blockhouse' between the opening in the enclosure and the broch itself. Another unusual feature is a stone slab featuring sculptured footprints, located in the causeway which approached the site. Situated across the loch is the Clickimin Leisure Centre.