Château de Louppy-sur-Loison present remains date back to a castle built in the 13th or 14th century. It was built on an elevated piece of land in a loop formed by the Loison river. Originally the feudal castle had a quadrilateral ground plan with circular towers at its corners. It had a deep moat which was fed by the Loison.
The castle was abandoned and fell to ruin later and Simon II de Pouilly built a new Louppy-sur-Loison castle in the first half of the 17th century. The present church was built on the ruins of the old castle in 1878.
At present the remains of the old Louppy-sur-Loison Castle are part of the grounds of the village church and town hall. Its exterior can freely be visited. The New Louppy-sur-Loison Castle is only some 100 meters away.
References:Manarola is a small town, a frazione of the comune of Riomaggiore. It is the second-smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns frequented by tourists, with a population of 353.
Manarola may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terre, with the cornerstone of the church, San Lorenzo, dating from 1338. The local dialect is Manarolese, which is marginally different from the dialects in the nearby area. The name 'Manarola' is probably a dialectical evolution of the Latin, 'magna rota'. In the Manarolese dialect this was changed to 'magna roea' which means 'large wheel', in reference to the mill wheel in the town.
Manarola's primary industries have traditionally been fishing and wine-making. The local wine, called Sciacchetrà, is especially renowned; references from Roman writings mention the high quality of the wine produced in the region.