The Castello Baradello is a military fortification located on a high hill next to the city of

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

History

The castle occupies the ancient site of ''Comum Oppidum'', the original settlement of Como, dating from the 1st millennium BC. Later it was one of the last

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

strongholds in the area, surrendering to the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

in 588. The castle was restored during the War of the Lombard League, with the help of emperor Frederick Barbarossa (1158). Barbarossa officially donated it to the citizens of Como in 1178. Napoleone della Torre died here in 1278, having been imprisoned here by

Ottone Visconti Ottone Visconti (1207 8 August 1295) was Archbishop of Milan and List of rulers of Milan#Before dukedom, Lord of Milan, the first of the Visconti of Milan, Visconti line. Under his rule, the medieval commune, commune of Milan became a strong Gue ...

after the

Battle of Desio The Battle of Desio was fought on 21 January 1277 between the Della Torre and Visconti families for the control of Milan and its countryside. The battlefield is located near the modern Desio, a commune outside the city in Lombardy, Northern It ...

; his nephew

Guido Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The mea ...

was able to escape in 1283, as well as his brothers Corrado and

Enrico Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from ''Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry ( English), Henri ( French), ...

the following year. Azzone Visconti restored and enlarged the fortification after conquering Como in 1335, and built another castle, the Castello della Torre Rotonda ("Castle of the Round Tower", now lost) and a

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. I ...

. In 1527, by order of emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

, the castle was dismantled, with the exception of the tower, to prevent it from falling in hands of the French troops that had invaded the duchy of Milan. After belonging to monks and then to private individuals, the castle was restored in 1971.

Description

The most preserved element is a square tower, measuring at the base, and standing at . It once had Guelph-type

merlon A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...

s. The walls are of Byzantine origin (6th-7th century); these were later heightened and provided with Guelph merlons, while another external line of walls was added. Also from the 6th century are the Chapel of St. Nicholas and quadrangular tower ( at the base), which was used as the castellan's residence. Napoleone della Torre was buried in the Chapel of St. Nicholas.

Sources

* {{coord, 45, 47, 38, N, 9, 05, 10, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Baradello Buildings and structures in Como Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Byzantine forts