Castello di San Terenzo
Opening hours / Our location / Contacts / Events / History / Staff / Documents
| OPENING HOURS | TICKET |
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| Until October 29, 2022 Saturday and Sunday 3pm-6pm first Sunday of the month, free entry | €2 General Admission other discounts |
| OUR LOCATION | CONTACTS |
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| Via Castello 8 19032 Lerici SP |
drm-lig@cultura.gov.it +39 388 4750863 |
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DIRECTIONS AND PARKING ACCESSIBILITY |
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HISTORY
The Castle of San Terenzo stands in a dominant position over the seaside village of San Terenzo, in the Gulf of Poets in the province of La Spezia.
The castle stands on a low rocky spur overlooking the sea, in a suggestive landscape setting and, in addition to telling the visitor its history, hosts events, exhibitions and other cultural events.
The origins of the fortification are probably lost in the central centuries of the Middle Ages, when raids by Saracen pirates were far from rare on all the coasts of the peninsula. This period probably echoes both the tradition of an attempted raid by the “Turks” in the village of San Terenzo, fiercely rejected by the inhabitants, and the name given to a cave in the underlying promontory: the “Turkish den”.
The first testimonies in written documents, however, are much later: in 1360 we know that a certain Rossi was the castellan of the town. The shapes that we can see today are still later, the castle was in fact probably built during the fifteenth century, perhaps by the inhabitants of the village themselves.
The castle of San Terenzo has a first pentagonal wall with three corners equipped with turrets, on which there are loopholes, useful for controlling the sea from different angles. In the innermost part there is a massive construction with a polygonal plan on which stands the crenelated tower of 7 meters on each side, 10 meters high. The building can be registered among the military works of the great defensive system developed by the Genoese Republic in the Gulf of La Spezia between the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the next, faced by the most imposing fortress of Lerici. The two fortifications are now connected by a suggestive and easy promenade and, in the summer, also by a boat service.
Between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the castle was transformed into a barracks for sailors, soldiers and the Italian financial police; a building was built between the first and second defense walls, which cut off part of the external wall and incorporated the corner tower facing the village (the so-called guardian’s house). The original military strategic function has been maintained until recent times, in fact at the beginning of the twentieth century it was used as a photoelectric station complete with military personnel responsible for the security and defense of the Gulf. It has recently undergone major restoration work to improve the use of the spaces for exhibitions and cultural events.
SUGGESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS
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DOCUMENTS
| DIRECTIONS AND PARKING | |
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| by train
From Genoa. Take the train to La Spezia Centrale. Upon exiting the station, turn right (behind the station) and take Via Fiume for about 100m. At the “P. Caduti del Lavoro ”(ATC managed service) and get off at the San Terenzo stop (30 minutes). Go along the promenade towards the west. The castle will be on your right. | by car From Genoa. Take the highway towards Livorno, entering the A12 / E80. Continue for 90 km. Take the exit towards La Spezia. Enter A15. Use the left lane to take the La Spezia / Genova exit. Continue for 5 km and take the Lerici-Porto exit towards Lerici. Continue for 500 m, keep left to stay on the A15 and follow the signs for Lerici, about 3 km. Enter Via degli Scoglietti, turn right and take via Bagnara. Continue for 300m on via Garibaldi, park in the via Giacomo Matteotti area. Continuing on foot, turn right and take Via Meneghetti. |
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| Being updated. |
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