CASTLE OF THE MARCHESI DI CLAVESANA

The Palazzo dei Marchesi Clavesana is located in the centre of the old village and dominates Rezzo and the valley. Its construction was completed at the end of the 16th century after the destruction, by the Savoy troops, of the first fortification of which the ruins remain in the upper area of the village. The restoration of the castle was the work of Gaspare De Auria Clavesana who stayed for a long time in the fiefdom. The palace has a quadrangular plan, made of stone. According to popular opinion, a stone frame carved at the level of the square indicates the midpoint of the building, dividing the upper part, intended for housing and representation, from the underlying one including prisons and service rooms. On the four corners you can see the defensive sentry boxes probably built during a period of insecurity, intrigue and popular discontent favoured by the authoritarian management of the fiefdom reigned around the noble family. It is no coincidence that a moat surrounded the entire building which was accessed via a drawbridge, of which only the holes where the lifting gears were remain. The drawbridge was later replaced by a more comfortable masonry walkway and a circular stone staircase. The large rustic door plated in zinc is surrounded by an imposing stone entrance, probably the work of Cenova's stonemasons: above it is engraved the motto "NEC SILENTIO TRANSEUNDA" which warns visitors by inviting them to announce their presence. Visitors are welcomed into the atrium, whose scenographic aspect is entrusted to the slate column raised by the pillar at the beginning of the balustrade of the stairs leading to the upper floor. Above the side doors two oval frescoes decorate the walls, they represent two ancestors of the Clavesana house: Aleramo and Adelasia the two unhappy lovers, she daughter of Otto (1st Emperor of Germany) and him squire of the father, who fell hopelessly in love and fled to Alassio. The door on the right leads to the small reception room where the Marquises welcomed guests on arrival.

Here in a lunette there is a fresco of Genoa, as it should have been in the 1500s. The noble floor intended for the lords, both as a home and as a representation, is divided into various rooms: the largest is a hall, once frescoed, where banquets, concerts and dances were held, later used by the local community as a "parliament". A smaller lounge served as a study and guest reception. A private chapel is closed by a large railing and still holds sacred books from the 1300s. Of great interest is the room where San Leonardo di Porto Maurizio stayed - who came to Rezzo in June 1709 on a pastoral mission. The bed where the saint rested is still preserved in the room. Each room still retains its original flooring and large stone fireplaces. Above the main floor was the servants quarters who could reach all floors through a service staircase. On the ground floor there is a large kitchen with ancient hearths, ovens and sinks. Below, the large rooms of the storehouses where cereals and cisterns of wine were kept and there was also a well for water. Popular belief has it that from a hidden, but still visible door, one entered a secret passage that would allow the Marquis to escape during popular insurrections. In the foundations there are prisons where graffiti left by some unfortunate prisoner can still be seen on a blackened wall. From the prisons a narrow passage leads to the back of the building, where the hangings took place. Visible the iron to which the condemned enemies were hanged and the balcony that allowed the gentleman to assist "in the front row" to the execution.