Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
The Castle of Silvano Pietra is a fortification in the Italian municipality of Silvano Pietra, in the province of Pavia. The building is located in the center of the parse at 83 m above sea level, in the open Po Valley a few kilometers from the right bank of the Po, between the Staffora and Curone streams. The construction of the castle dates back to 1329, called "Castle with high tower already of the Beccaria", it was started by the Beccaria (an aristocratic family of the Ghibelline party of Pavia) and finished within the first quarter of the 14th century and used in the early years as a prison. This hypothesis is attested by an inscription engraved on the original 14th century wall which reads "Prijonie". The village was under the control of the Beccaria family in the 14th century, a family represented by Manfredo, conqueror of Mortara and Novara and founder of the branch of San Gaudenzio, Mortara and Silvano. Brief enfeoffments followed, including that of the Bottigella of Pavia (1468), for which the village was called Silvano Bottigella. However, already in 1483 the fief was taken away from them, and after a brief enfeoffment to the Sanseverinos it passed in 1528 to Brunorio Pietra, ducal minister, to whose descendants it remained until the abolition of feudalism (1797). The structure of a castle is evidenced by a complex with a U-shaped plan, with pointed windows, single-lancet windows and pointed and round arches. Inside there are valuable frescoes dating from 1400 to 1600. The most recognizable part in its original walls is the tower that rises on the town square, which preserves traces of the drawbridge, of the castle tower only the lower part remains, the upper part has been modified by a more recent addition that brings the bell tower to the top, today the building serves as a bell tower. The castle probably originally had three towers 35,27 and 25 meters high.
The Castle of Silvano Pietra is a fortification in the Italian municipality of Silvano Pietra, in the province of Pavia. The building is located in the center of the parse at 83 m above sea level, in the open Po Valley a few kilometers from the right bank of the Po, between the Staffora and Curone streams. The construction of the castle dates back to 1329, called "Castle with high tower already of the Beccaria", it was started by the Beccaria (an aristocratic family of the Ghibelline party of Pavia) and finished within the first quarter of the 14th century and used in the early years as a prison. This hypothesis is attested by an inscription engraved on the original 14th century wall which reads "Prijonie". The village was under the control of the Beccaria family in the 14th century, a family represented by Manfredo, conqueror of Mortara and Novara and founder of the branch of San Gaudenzio, Mortara and Silvano. Brief enfeoffments followed, including that of the Bottigella of Pavia (1468), for which the village was called Silvano Bottigella. However, already in 1483 the fief was taken away from them, and after a brief enfeoffment to the Sanseverinos it passed in 1528 to Brunorio Pietra, ducal minister, to whose descendants it remained until the abolition of feudalism (1797). The structure of a castle is evidenced by a complex with a U-shaped plan, with pointed windows, single-lancet windows and pointed and round arches. Inside there are valuable frescoes dating from 1400 to 1600. The most recognizable part in its original walls is the tower that rises on the town square, which preserves traces of the drawbridge, of the castle tower only the lower part remains, the upper part has been modified by a more recent addition that brings the bell tower to the top, today the building serves as a bell tower. The castle probably originally had three towers 35,27 and 25 meters high.
