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The Castle of San Faustino or Old Castle is located in the municipality of Grosio. It was strategically important for controlling the valley floor, the Mortirolo Pass, and the outlet of the Val Grosina. Naturally protected by the steep rocky slopes of the hill, it is surrounded at its base by the Roasco and Adda rivers. It is easily accessible on foot, beyond the Rupe Magna and the New Castle.
The castle first appears in a 1150 document belonging to the Curia Comense. The church dedicated to Saints Faustino and Giovita likely predates the castle itself, later being incorporated into it and transformed into a chapel. The dedication to these two Brescia martyrs may reflect economic and cultural ties between Valtellina and Valcamonica.
When the Venosta family abandoned the castle, likely around the late 16th century, the church also began a slow but inexorable decline.
Today, only a few ruins of the castle remain, dominated by the Romanesque bell tower of the Church of San Faustino and Giovita. Archaeological excavations have revealed new insights into the castle’s perimeter and historical role. The findings suggest that the northern structures seem to expand as if to embrace the entire hill. The preserved walls allow for the identification of the castle’s outline and related structures. The relatively narrow design, seemingly 'forced' to follow the hill’s morphology, suggests that it served less as a defensive structure and more as a prestigious display of power by the feudal lord who controlled Grosotto and Grosio.
It is likely that the castle was originally much larger than it appears today: a true fortified village modeled after an early medieval castrum, surrounded by a defensive wall that enclosed the entire hill. The oldest construction (6th century AD), identified during the 2000 archaeological excavations, corresponds to a primitive funerary shrine that contained two rock-cut tombs, interpreted as privileged burials.
The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.