Top 4 Castles around Carro

Salino is a small village in the Vara Valley, nestled on a hill overlooking woods and valleys. Next to the church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo stands a recently restored medieval tower, which for centuries had remained hidden or incorporated into the village's structures. Today, once again visible, it tells the story of the town's most ancient history: that of a settlement founded to defend and control the territory, at a strategic point between the coast and the Apennines. The tower and the church form an evocative ensemble, typical of Ligurian villages where the sacred and the secular intertwine. From the churchyard, the view opens out over the valley, amidst meadows and chestnut groves, in a silence that reveals all the discreet charm of the hinterland.

Levanto Castle was a defensive building located between Salita San Giorgio and Salita al Castello in the southern part of the historic center of Levanto, in the province of La Spezia. The site is part of the town's ancient walls. HISTORY: According to some historical sources, the existence of a defensive building in the then Levanto village was documented and confirmed as early as 1165, during the Malaspina rule in the area. Around the 13th century, a document attests to its presence under the name "Castello di Monale." The current building, however, dates back to the rule of the Republic of Genoa, and therefore to the second half of the 16th century[1], perhaps a reconstruction from scratch on the site of the pre-existing medieval castle; the reconstruction of the town's old walls is documented. With the creation of the Captaincy of Levanto in 1637, it served as the temporary seat of the Captain and, subsequently, as a prison until the fall of the Genoese Republic under Napoleonic rule in 1797. In the second half of the 19th century, it was sold to the state and, after conservative restoration between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, it remains privately owned today. SOURCE: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_di_Levanto

Overlooking the city, to the south of the town, connected on one side to the church of S. Andrea and on the other to the small city port, along two splendid walks, stands the castle of Levanto, of which there is evidence thanks to an initial document dating back to 1165, when the building belonged to the Malaspina family. Further documentary confirmation of the construction, there called the castle of Monale, dates back to the following century. The current appearance of the fortification dates back to the second half of the 16th century, most likely the work of the Genoese; in this period the ancient walls were also renovated, still accessible today in some sections. When, in 1637, the headquarters of the Captaincy of the Republic of Genoa was placed in Levanto, the castle became the residence of the Captain; subsequently used as a prison, it fell into disuse after the capitulation of the Genoese Republic itself in 1797. During the 19th century, the public domain ceded it to private individuals - to whom it still belongs - while the various renovation cycles that brought it to its current shape date back to between the 19th and 20th centuries. Architecturally simple, the fortification consists of a circular-based tower and four quadrangular-shaped walls. North-east façadeThe external patrol walkways, embellished with Ghibelline-style battlements in the tower part and Guelph-style battlements in the body part, are supported by round brick arches based on corbels in sandstone typical of the area.

The toponym Suvero seems to derive from the Latin word supernus (superior, placed above) and recalls its privileged strategic position of control, between the Vara valley and the Lunigiana. Dominating the village of Suvero is the castle, along the road that leads to the Passo dei Casoni. When the Marquis Rinaldo Malaspina received the investiture as lord of the fiefdom of Suvero in 1549, he decided to expand and renovate the previous castle, already four centuries old. A defensive and then residential position for the Malaspina family, the castle was abandoned by its owners after 1797 with the end of the imperial lordships decreed by the new Napoleonic French domination. In recent years, the castle of Suvero, for the third time in its very long history, has been completely restored and is currently used as a private residence. Therefore, the castle cannot be visited. The church of San Giovanni Battista, stands right in front of the castle, and shows clear traces of subsequent renovations. It has a cross-shaped structure and in the crypt it preserves a white marble bas-relief of the Virgin and Child surrounded by music-making angels, which bears the date 1497 engraved on it.

This mini park is accessible from the strada delle gallerie. Unfortunately, it is quite dirty, but it nestles with pretty views and an interesting stair access on the sea side as a good vantage point on the south-eastern hill of the Bay of Moneglia. It's worth a detour and a welcome break from the town center on a stormy day in Moneglia.

The original tower is part of the medieval city wall of Levanto around 1200. It served to protect against the Pisans.