Castle of Serravalle, Medieval castle on a hill in Bosa, Italy
The Castle of Serravalle is a medieval fortress on a hill above Bosa, in northwestern Sardinia, enclosed by thick stone walls and defensive towers. Inside the walls, there are residential buildings, a chapel, and fortification structures that were added and changed over the centuries.
The Malaspina family, originally from Tuscany, had the fortress built in the 13th century to control this part of Sardinia. In later centuries the site changed hands and was altered several times to keep up with new military needs.
The chapel inside the walls still has 14th-century frescoes painted directly on the stone. The scenes are religious in nature and give a sense of how spiritual life was part of everyday existence inside a fortified residence.
Getting to the castle means climbing a stone staircase from the town center, so sturdy shoes are a good idea. The site is generally open every day, and visiting in the morning or late afternoon makes the climb more comfortable.
Excavations at the site showed that the fortress was built around 50 years later than written records had suggested. This finding is a good example of how physical evidence can change what historians believed about a place.
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