Malgrate Castle

The hilltop village of Malgrate with its castle dating back to the 13th century commands the valley crossed by the River Bagnone.
The original structure of the castle included a tower and a residence of the Malaspina family and was enclosed by fortified walls in the 15th century. In the 1600s the castle became a residence of the Marquis Ariberti and turned into an elegant palace.
Abandoned in the 1800s, is today restored and open to visitors. Today three main elements of the original structure are still visible: the main tower, the mansion and the double fortified walls.

The crenelled tower is 25m tall and is similar to other towers of the same period for example Bagnone and Treschietto. The medieval mansion presents 2 of the 4 original rectangular floors. On the walls several slits used for crossbows are still visible.

The 1600 walls surround the castle in a trapezoidal shape and used to have an access through a drawbridge and features several slits for guns.
From the upper terrace you can look over the Magra valley, the Apennine range and the Apuan Alps peaks.