Corenno Plinio Castle, Dervio, Italy

The castle of Corenno Plinio is today one of the best preserved castles in Lombardy.

Built between 1363 and 1370 on ancient Roman ruins, by will of Andreani’s family, it has a square shape, even if irregular, and two towers: a square one dated back to the 11th century and a C shape one at the castle’s entrance in Piazza Garibaldi.

Piazza Garibaldi, with its pebble floor, lets you breathe the medieval past of Corenno Plinio and welcomes you with its castle and the closechurch dedicated to St. Thomas Beckett of Canterbury, with its Neo-gothic tombs of Andriani’s family.

The castle of Corenno Plinio is a walled castle and it was built and used as a refuge for the local inhabitants to safeguard themselves from invaders’ attacks. Its strong walls built with the local stone are adorned by battlements.

Actually the castle still is a private property, but it’s open for visit every first Saturday of each month. Visit has to be booked in advanced at the Public Library of Dervio.

We suggest you to reach Corenno Plinio on foot walking along the Wayfarer’s Path (Sentiero del Viandante).

References:

Ecco Lecco

User Reviews

Vladimir Urosevic (2 years ago)
Very cute and rustic!

Ian Shepherd (2 years ago)
Beautiful church great views of Lake como

Ken Tischler (3 years ago)
Pretty neat little medieval village. Not much here, just the old castle (closed to public), church, and the little village. Probably not more than two dozen people live in the village. Very steep and narrow cobblestone pathways between stone homes. There is also a restaurant by the castle but it never opened in the 3 days we were here.

Aly Vee (3 years ago)
breathtaking location, incl. the nearby cloister, very well maintained. The green preserved area surrounding the place is worth a walk. located in the renowned Franciacorta area you can enjoy some food'n'wine before or after y visit

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Giåm

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Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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