The castle of Corenno Plinio is today one of the best preserved castles in Lombardy.
Built between 1363 and 1370 on ancient Roman ruins, by will of Andreani’s family, it has a square shape, even if irregular, and two towers: a square one dated back to the 11th century and a C shape one at the castle’s entrance in Piazza Garibaldi.
Piazza Garibaldi, with its pebble floor, lets you breathe the medieval past of Corenno Plinio and welcomes you with its castle and the closechurch dedicated to St. Thomas Beckett of Canterbury, with its Neo-gothic tombs of Andriani’s family.
The castle of Corenno Plinio is a walled castle and it was built and used as a refuge for the local inhabitants to safeguard themselves from invaders’ attacks. Its strong walls built with the local stone are adorned by battlements.
Actually the castle still is a private property, but it’s open for visit every first Saturday of each month. Visit has to be booked in advanced at the Public Library of Dervio.
We suggest you to reach Corenno Plinio on foot walking along the Wayfarer’s Path (Sentiero del Viandante).
References:Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.
The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).