Built in 1550 by decree of the Senate of the Republic of Genoa against Saracen raids, disarmed in 1745 and rearmed in 1778, twice nearly demolished, and now the symbol of the town’s maritime museum.
At a glance
- Built
- 1550, by resolution of the Senate of the Republic of Genoa
- Designed by
- Antonio de Càrabo, maestro comacino
- Purpose
- Defence against Saracen pirate raids
- Form
- Rectangular plan facing the sea, with a single tower at the south-west corner
- End of military use
- 1815, on annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia
- Today
- A venue of the Civico Museo delle Tradizioni Marinare
Overview
The castle sits directly on the water at the foot of the hill crowned by Villa Durazzo, small and rectangular, with one tower at the south-west corner. It was built in 1550 to a design by Antonio de Càrabo, a maestro comacino, following a resolution of the Senate of the Republic of Genoa: the coast was being raided by Saracen pirates and the villages of the Tigullio had no defence of their own.
History
Structural works and heavier armament continued into the seventeenth century. The decline that followed was not steady. In 1745 Genoa asked for the last remaining cannon to be handed over, and yet in 1778 the castle had to be armed again against Turkish attack. Under Napoleon the French refortified this coast and put its castles back into a state of defence against the British.
Military use ended for good in 1815, when Santa Margherita was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia. After the First World War the building was restored and dedicated to the town’s fallen; a marble plaque inside records their names.
It twice came close to being pulled down: once to clear the site for a new town hall, once to widen the adjoining Calata Vittorio Emanuele. It was restored again in 2000.
What you see
The scale is the surprise. This is not a fortress but a compact coastal work, its walls rising straight from the quayside, with the single corner tower giving it the profile that has become the town’s emblem.
At the base, facing Corso Marconi, a bronze medallion 65 centimetres across carries the likeness of Guglielmo Marconi, who stayed at Santa Margherita Ligure and carried out important experiments here. It is the work of Lorenzo Cascio and was given to the town in 2009 by Giulio Ciana.
Practical information
- Address: Salita al Castello, 16038 Santa Margherita Ligure (GE)
- Access is on foot
- Use: one of the venues of the Civico Museo delle Tradizioni Marinare, used for events, conferences and exhibitions, and taken as the museum’s symbol; the museum’s main seat is at Villa Durazzo
- Managed by Società Progetto Srl — museodelmare@comunesml.it, tel. +39 0185 293135
- Opening hours vary with the exhibition programme: check with the town’s information office before travelling
Sources
- Comune di Santa Margherita Ligure, official page “4 – Castello cinquecentesco” (construction, de Càrabo, 1745 and 1778, Napoleonic period, 1815, restoration 2000, current use and management) — comune.santa-margherita-ligure.ge.it
- Comune di Santa Margherita Ligure, pages of the Civico Museo delle Tradizioni Marinare
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