Castello di Avetrana

The Castle of Avetrana is known as "il Torrione" (the Big Tower). It stands imposing in the heart of the historic center, dominating the surrounding landscape. Its history dates back to the 14th century, when the feudal lord Pietro Tocco had the quadrangular tower, the original nucleus of the entire structure, built. The tower, made of local carparo stone, rises about 20 meters and has a sloping base, typical of medieval fortifications. Its massive walls tell of an era of wars and battles, when the castle was a defensive stronghold against enemy incursions, particularly Turkish ones.
What remains today of the original structure

Of the original fortified complex, we can still admire the square tower, a round tower, a square turret, and a curtain wall that connects the round tower to the square turret. In the underground of the Castle, the warehouses and oil mills carved into the rock tell of the indissoluble bond between the olive tree and this territory, for centuries dedicated to the production of lamp oil, used for lighting and called "liquid gold." But the structure also reveals the millennia-old history of Avetrana: in the Casamatta del Torrione, an archaeological exhibition gathers artifacts from the Neolithic to the Imperial Roman period and fossils of Pleistocene fauna. The Castle overlooks Piazza Parlatano, which connects the Mother Church and the fortress complex. On one side of the square, there is a mural dedicated to the patron saint of Avetrana, San Biagio, inaugurated in April 2022.