Don’t miss a visit to the enchanting village of Corenno Plinio, part of the Dervio municipality. Here stands one of the best-preserved castles in all of Lombardy. Facing the cobbled Piazza Garibaldi, the castle stands beside the Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, which also houses the Andreani archaeological site. One of the village's three funerary monuments can be seen leaning against the church walls. The castle was built between 1360 and 1370 by the Andreani family, who had been granted the fiefdom of Corenno by Archbishop Ottone Visconti of Milan in 1271. Some of the foundations suggest that the structure was erected atop the remains of an ancient Roman fortress—likely one of the signal and guard towers forming part of the Lario region’s defensive network. Its elevated, panoramic position would have made it ideal for such a role.
The castle has an irregular, roughly square layout and features two towers: a square one to the north and a sail-shaped tower to the south.
Entirely constructed from stone, it is a fine example of a castello-recinto (castle-wall), a type of fortification designed to protect the local population and their most precious resources during enemy attacks. In times of danger, it served as a refuge for the villagers, who would take shelter inside along with their livestock and essential provisions. The area enclosed by the castle walls is relatively modest, especially considering the number of people it was built to protect. The village itself has always been small, with a population of around one hundred.
The defensive walls, known as curtain walls, are in many places built directly onto the bedrock and are crowned with swallow-tailed battlements that protect the patrol walkway along the top of the walls. In the northeast corner stands a massive square tower that once served as a lookout and a defensive post for the mule track leading up to Valvarrone. This tower likely pre-dates the present walls and is believed to date back to the 11th century. At the southeast corner, a square “sail-type” tower (open on the inside) dominates the main entrance, which overlooks the small piazza. Above the entrance, you’ll see the coat of arms of the Andreani counts. This tower played a strategic role in defending the village against raids from the lake and was part of a broader network of watch and signal towers, maintaining visual contact with the other fortresses in the area, particularly the tower of Rezzonico Castle.
To complete the castle's defences, a moat once surrounded the structure, as documented in the 1389 Statute of the Municipality of Dervio. The moat was removed between 1825 and 1830 during the construction of the military road (now Provincial Road 72). In times of danger, even the steep, narrow stairways leading from the village down to the lake were closed off by heavy gates, effectively blocking what was then the only access route.
Over the centuries, the castle gradually lost its defensive function. According to the Catasto Teresiano of the 18th century, part of the western wall was demolished to make more space for cultivating vines, opening up a stunning panoramic view of the lake.
Opening times in 2025
Today, the castle is privately owned. It is not open to the public on a regular basis but can be visited during guided tours of the village organised by the Pro Loco Dervio in collaboration with the Municipality of Dervio. Next visits in 2026.
