The castle of Chiavano not only guards the homonymous Col crossed by an old road connecting it with the Kingdom of Naples, but also dominates the plateau below, along the edge of which numerous villas can be found.

Due to its dominant position (that of a typical hill castle) and to the features of its buildings which make the houses look like a fortified enclosure, which at its highest point seems to be particularly well equipped, it appears to be a typical border castle, an outpost in such an advanced position as to be completely autonomous, as historic events confirm. One of the lords of the castle who also owned Terzone and Pianezza was the Blessed Giovanni da Chiavano (born in 1280) who gave up the stronghold and led the life of a hermit until his death.

The Romans also left evidence of their intrusion with a block of local limestone with an inscription that was then used as a step in the stairway up to the village church. From its shape the block appears to have been part of a fairly important funeral monument, and was used first as an altar table and a rectangular hollow was made which spoilt the inscription. Of special importance is the stretch of road that runs from the beautiful sixteenth century fountain of Chiavano towards Villa San Silvestro and the embankments made of blocks of local limestone can still be seen fixed to the 1.80 m wide roadway along its entire length, even though they have deteriorated or are missing in some places. As in other cases the embankments served as terracing on the hill above and as a parapet below.

Discover in a video the plateau of Chiavano>>>