Pietra Castle is built on a huge boulder detached from Cengio Rosso. It is located in a strategic location which marked the long border between the Italian Tyrolean territories, Bishopric of Trent and Republic of Venice. When the Venetians tried to go to the north, between the15th and 16th century , they were stopped by the Principality and the Austrians with important pitched battles that took place near the castle.
Its rooms are decorated in a Gothic style. Worth of mentioning is the 'Hall of Justice', strictly gothic atmosphere illuminated by windows with a particular form in Guelph and adorned with frescoes from the 15th century.
The castle is restored and today privately owned and inhabited.
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.