Padenghe

The Castle

Set in a splendid panoramic position, the castle-shelter, dating back to the year 1000 and considered the oldest in the Valtenesi, has almost entirely preserved its original structure. You can admire the three towers, the largest of which is over 21 meters high and it is located above the entrance, where the slits of the drawbridge are still visible.
More than a castle it was a refuge where the inhabitants, scattered throughout the countryside and villages, could take refuge in case of danger, even bringing their livestock. What we see today is a reconstruction carried out between the 13th and 14th centuries: in fact its construction took place in three moments.

Between the 9th and 10th centuries, at the time of the Hungarian invasions, the castle was built, like all the castles of Valtenesi, on Roman ruins and under the power of Charlemagne (742-814). Initially, the crenellated walls enclosing the houses were built. To the north-west there were the two small towers, while two other, larger ones, were on the sides. The access was perhaps where it is today, but defenseless. An approximate date of erection could be around 1000.

Later what is called "Il Castellino" (little or minor castle) was added with the circular tower. The entrance was via a drawbridge that still rests on a bastion today. This second moment dates back to around the fourteenth century.

The construction of the entrance tower to the castle dates back to the third period, also with a drawbridge and walkway resting on bastions to defend the moat.

 

The buildings inside the castle lined up in three parallel rows and were all of the same size, while the spaces that we now see as vegetable gardens are thought to be occupied by other houses. Stratigraphic analyzes confirm the hypothesis that the houses and the walls have the same construction period. The masonry is made up of river pebbles, stone chips and bricks, while the oldest roofs, with portals and low-arched windows, have brick frames.

The Castle and the existing houses inside it constitute the oldest civil architectural structures of Padenghe.

A first filling of the moat that surrounded the castle took place in 1885 and a second in 1959.

In 1912 a fire destroyed various structures but, in 1914, the Superintendence of Monuments rebuilt the destroyed part: then in 1965 it restored everything that was unsafe and, in 1970, it carried out further maintenance.

In the space between the bell tower and the wall of the castle was the house of the keeper who communicated with the bell room. The house was demolished in 1967.