Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
The castle of Lerma dates back in its fundamental structures to the end of the 15th century when the construction was carried out by Luca Spinola. The imposing building of the castle stands on a tuff rock overlooking the Piota river and preserves intact within the walls the ancient “ricetto”, the first nucleus of the village that took the name of l’Herma. The defensive apparatus itself reveals a transitional building, between the fortification and the noble manor, in fact one can notice the lack of machicolations between one corbel and another, and the battlements themselves are an integral part of the windows and the roof forming a protruding apparatus that has almost become a decorative element. Under each window there is a splayed slit to be used as a bombardier and on the sides two rifle embrasures complete the war preparations. Symbol of command and lordship, in the northern part, facing the village, the new square tower rises and on the east wall an enormous coat of arms of the Spinola family is painted. At the center of the castle is a characteristic fifteenth-century triangular courtyard, with stone arches and columns and mullioned windows. The ricetto complex had two entrances: one downstream and the other belonging to the castle. Inside, there are numerous halls, rooms and other rooms.
The castle of Lerma dates back in its fundamental structures to the end of the 15th century when the construction was carried out by Luca Spinola. The imposing building of the castle stands on a tuff rock overlooking the Piota river and preserves intact within the walls the ancient “ricetto”, the first nucleus of the village that took the name of l’Herma. The defensive apparatus itself reveals a transitional building, between the fortification and the noble manor, in fact one can notice the lack of machicolations between one corbel and another, and the battlements themselves are an integral part of the windows and the roof forming a protruding apparatus that has almost become a decorative element. Under each window there is a splayed slit to be used as a bombardier and on the sides two rifle embrasures complete the war preparations. Symbol of command and lordship, in the northern part, facing the village, the new square tower rises and on the east wall an enormous coat of arms of the Spinola family is painted. At the center of the castle is a characteristic fifteenth-century triangular courtyard, with stone arches and columns and mullioned windows. The ricetto complex had two entrances: one downstream and the other belonging to the castle. Inside, there are numerous halls, rooms and other rooms.
