Castelli di Cannero

The Cannero castles are ruins of a castle on two small islands off Cannero Riviera in the municipality of Cannobio in Lake Maggiore.

History

The predecessors of the visible ruins today, the Castelli di Malpaga, were probably already in the course of the 13th century. Towards the end of the 14th century, the brothers Mazzardi, five butchers sons of Ronco sopra Ascona, which dominated the town of Cannobio to 1403 and terrorized the population of the upper coast of Lake Maggiore lived there. Only after the murder of a priest sent the Duke of Milan Filippo Maria Visconti, an army of 500 soldiers under the leadership of Giovanni Lonati who besieged the fort and destroyed down to the ground. Today nothing remains of the original system.

1441, the island was a fief of Vitaliano Borromeo I., after his death it passed to his sons. Between 1519 and 1521 was Ludovico Borromeo built on the islet of the Rocca Vitaliana; with the names he wanted his famous ancestor honor. The Rocca Vitaliana served as a defense for the upper Maggiore, opposite the Confederates after the Duchy of Milan was forced to cede the Canton of Ticino to the Swiss. After the death of Ludovico, the fort was abandoned and began to fall apart.

Description

On the eastern side of the massive walls follow the cliffs along the shore. Here and there they are surmounted by round towers with remains of battlements. At the highest point of the island are the ruins of a church. The island can not be visited. Currently ( August 2010) are restoration work in progress.