Lierna Castle
Castello di Lierna
Lierna, Lake Como
Coordinates45°57′57″N 9°18′04″E / 45.96583°N 9.30111°E / 45.96583; 9.30111
Typemedieval castle
Site information
Ownerprivate and public museum
Open to
the public		in part
Conditionrestored
Other site
facilities		residential
Site history
Built10th century CE
Materialsstone and mortar
Fate
  • military use until 16th century CE
  • civilian use since
Battles/warsComo-Milan War
Events

Lierna Castle (Italian: Castello di Lierna) is a castle on the eastern side of Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy. The castle is built on a peninsula that protrudes into the lake[1] and consists of a group of connected buildings, rather than a single building. The main portion of the current buildings was constructed in the 10th century in Romanesque style upon former Roman ruins.[2] The castle includes the 11th-century church of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Chiesa dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro), associated with the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.[2]

The castle is occupied by the people of the frazione of Castello in the comune of Lierna.[3][4] It is the northwesternmost of the eleven frazioni of Lierna comune.

History

The last military use of the castle was in the mid-16th century by Gian Giacomo Medici, known as "Medeghino" (the "small Medici"), who was primarily a mercenary.[5]

References

  1. ^ Ratcliffe, Lucy; Teller, Matthew (April 2012). The Rough Guide to the Italian Lakes (Third ed.). Rough Guides. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-4093-5931-9.
  2. ^ a b "Lierna Castle - Lake Como". Como and its Lake. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014.
  3. ^ Chiesi, Gustavo (1894). La patria; geografia dell' Italia: Provincia di Milano. p. 206.
  4. ^ "Lierna". Como and its Lake. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Piccoli appunti di Storia" (PDF) (in Italian). Comune di Lierna. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015. from the Storia di Lierna by Aurelio Goretti and Franca Panizza.

Further reading

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