Palo Castle, Medieval castle in Ladispoli, Italy

Palo Castle is a fortified coastal property in Ladispoli, made up of two separate structures: a reinforced manor house and a standalone defensive tower. The two buildings stand close to the sea, connected by grounds that include wooded areas along the shoreline.

A fortified settlement is first recorded here in 1132, when Genoese troops occupied a nearby town. The castle itself, Castrum Pali, is first cited in 1330, held by the Monastery of San Saba and then entrusted to the Orsini. In 1693 Flavio and Lelio Orsini sold it to Livio Odescalchi; after passing to Duke Grillo of Genoa and Marquis Carlo Loffredo of Trevico, the Odescalchi bought it back in 1780 and remain its owners.

The Odescalchi family, who bought the castle back in 1780, still owns it today. Ownership passed through the Orsini, who sold it in 1693 to Livio Odescalchi, then briefly to the Duke Grillo of Genoa and Marquis Carlo Loffredo of Trevico before the 1780 repurchase. The building is a private residence, so visitors see it from outside.

The castle sits just south of Ladispoli along the coast road and can be reached on foot or by car from the town center. Since it is a private property, access is limited to the public paths along the shoreline, so it is best viewed from the outside.

The first documented mention of a fortified settlement here dates to 1132, when Genoese troops occupied a nearby town; the name Castrum Pali itself appears only in 1330, when the site belonged to the Monastery of San Saba and was then entrusted to the Orsini. Ownership later passed through figures including Pope Alexander VI Borgia, Popes Paul III and Sixtus V, and cardinals Flavio and Virginio Orsini.