S. Giorgio Castle is a castle in the municipality of

Magliaso Magliaso is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. History Magliaso is first mentioned in 769 as ''de Maliacis''. In 854 it was mentioned as ''de vico Maliaci''. During the Lombards era the monastery o ...

in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

canton of

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

History

The

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

castle of San GiorgioInventario dei beni culturali - Castello di San Giorgio
is mentioned for the first time in 1033. It was the home for nearly two decades (1098-1117) for the schismatic bishop of Como, Landolfo Carcano, who was appointed by

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son ...

against

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

's bishop. The castle was besieged and conquered in 1117 by

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, 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 ...

and the fate of Landolfo, is uncertain (possibly deported or murdered). This caused the ten-year war between Como and Milan. In 1667 Giovanni Maria Castoreo di Lugano sold the castle with its surrounding land to the Beroldingen family. Carlo Corrado Beroldingen added, in 1687, to the west, the residential tower next to the medieval tower. It was partially destroyed in 1907. The square tower on the south wall still has fragments of a Romanesque spiral decoration. In the north-west wall there are remains of a semi-circular brick wall. The two lines of the Beroldingen family passed from father to son the office of ''Landscriba'' (Chancellor) of the

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

and

Mendrisio Mendrisio (; lmo, label= Ticinese, Mendris ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Mendrisio is the seat of the Accademia di Architettura of the university of Italian-speaking Switzerland (U ...

. Beroldingen di Magliaso family, also received, in

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

, the territory of the '' Vicinanza'' with all the rights to hunting, fishing, and low justice. After Carlo Corrado, who at the height of his fortune also owned two buildings in Lugano (Villa Favorita and Villa Ciani), the family fortune rapidly declined and they fell further and further into debt. In 1788 the Baron Giuseppe Antonio Beroldingen (fourth lord of Magliaso) gave the castle to Jost Müller of Altdorf, who kept it until 1798.

References

{{coord, 45.986972, N, 8.888557, E, type:landmark_region:CH, display=title, name=Castello Di S. Giorgio Cultural property of national significance in Ticino Castles in the canton of Ticino