Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago
The castle of San Damiano, also known as the fortress of San Damiano or the Anguissola castle, is a fortification located in San Damiano, a hamlet of the Italian municipality of San Giorgio Piacentino, in the province of Piacenza. The building is located in the open Po Valley near the Nure stream. The castle, built mostly of stone and brick, has a structure that is quite common in the Piacenza area with a quadrangular plan featuring two round-based towers on the northern side that protrude slightly from the rest of the building and are equipped, like several other buildings in the area, with small windows with low arches. On the side that joins the two round towers there is the entrance postern, equipped with Ghibelline-style battlements and arrow slits and which, protruding from the front line, acts as a breakwater and aligns perfectly with the two towers placed at the vertices. The entrance bears the signs of the joints of the drawbridge and the walkway that originally crossed the moat, which was later filled in. On the entrance door there is a decoration depicting the stone coat of arms of the Anguissola family. The complex is dominated by the keep, which is located next to the entrance and shows signs of Ghibelline battlements which were later filled in; its position gives credence to the hypothesis that it predates the rest of the castle. Like the postern and the keep, the adjacent buildings were originally crowned by battlements, which are no longer present, but some traces of which can still be seen. Over time the building has undergone various alterations: on the south side, two square-plan towers which were still existing in 1819 have disappeared, as evidenced by a plan of the castle drawn up in that year. On this side, a low stone perimeter wall was then built which encloses the courtyard and connects the buildings of the complex. The castle, which had fallen into disrepair after being used for agricultural purposes, was subsequently restored and is in good condition.
The castle of San Damiano, also known as the fortress of San Damiano or the Anguissola castle, is a fortification located in San Damiano, a hamlet of the Italian municipality of San Giorgio Piacentino, in the province of Piacenza. The building is located in the open Po Valley near the Nure stream. The castle, built mostly of stone and brick, has a structure that is quite common in the Piacenza area with a quadrangular plan featuring two round-based towers on the northern side that protrude slightly from the rest of the building and are equipped, like several other buildings in the area, with small windows with low arches. On the side that joins the two round towers there is the entrance postern, equipped with Ghibelline-style battlements and arrow slits and which, protruding from the front line, acts as a breakwater and aligns perfectly with the two towers placed at the vertices. The entrance bears the signs of the joints of the drawbridge and the walkway that originally crossed the moat, which was later filled in. On the entrance door there is a decoration depicting the stone coat of arms of the Anguissola family. The complex is dominated by the keep, which is located next to the entrance and shows signs of Ghibelline battlements which were later filled in; its position gives credence to the hypothesis that it predates the rest of the castle. Like the postern and the keep, the adjacent buildings were originally crowned by battlements, which are no longer present, but some traces of which can still be seen. Over time the building has undergone various alterations: on the south side, two square-plan towers which were still existing in 1819 have disappeared, as evidenced by a plan of the castle drawn up in that year. On this side, a low stone perimeter wall was then built which encloses the courtyard and connects the buildings of the complex. The castle, which had fallen into disrepair after being used for agricultural purposes, was subsequently restored and is in good condition.
