Castello San Giorgio Levanto
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| View from the Turret of Castello San Giorgio |
Our trip to Italy and specifically Levanto this year is a bit of a departure for us. We have been here many times starting in 2004 and visited most everything there was to see associated to the Cinque Terre.
This year, we were reviewing a Youtube video on Levanto where they mentioned a church, Chiesa di Sant’Andrea (St. Andrew’s Church) and a Castello San Giorgio. We had known about both these sites but we had seen so many churches and castles on past trips we hadn't made the effort due partly to the fact the Castello is privately owned and not open to visits. Another leftover site to visit is the Punta Mesca a point and lighthouse that overlooks Monterosso, the 5th town on the Cinque Terre.
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| A lower entrance View |
Our strategy on this busy long weekend filled with visitors and locals to Levanto was to walk to the church and Castello and find the trail to Punta Mesca, then come down the stairs to the south beach to enjoy the sun, sand and surf.
The Castello was the high point on the shorter hike so we made our way there first. As I rounded a part of the town wall to find the viewpoint of the Castello I noticed a control gate that prevents entry was open and up the driveway a bit was an older gentleman and younger worker sitting there. As I approached the older gentleman, we'll call him "Ray" out of respect for his privacy, who said quietly "closed". About 15 seconds later Sandra came around the corner and he again said "closed", I mentioned we were together to which he then asked where we're from. I said Canada, and he asked as so many do "French or English", and I confirmed BC.
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| Sandra and Ray |
As we found out he is the owner and was waiting for some material to be delivered and by coincidence we saw that material being loaded on our walk. Since it hadn't arrived he said "I take you for a short tour, because you have come so far".
With this we became excited, he explained who he was and his lineage to the Castle. It dates back to 845 AD then 1165 (approx) and has been held within the family to this day. Beyond that, out of respect for their privacy, we will leave the information out of this blog.
We climbed the stairs to the main entrance and entered the interior. At one point he pointed to a small room that he said was his room as an infant as he was born there and then to some other interior rooms that have seen alterations over the years.
As we eventually climbed to the turret area and walked on a sealed surface inside the protective turret walls he explained that during WWII the Germans occupied the Castle to defend their position from the Allies and had mounted an anti aircraft gun in that position. As he explained with the repeated use and vibrations associated to it's use during the war the roof beams and roof were damaged and it was a big job post war to repair it so the castle would again be liveable.
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| A climb to the Turret |
"Ray" also pointed out how the Castle and Levanto town walls were originally connected, but he was personally disappointed that the town had not maintained the integrity of the town wall in places on the south side.
We valued the conversation far beyond the little that is written on this private Castle. Ray explained to Sandra as I took pictures of the views and the video that they were able to communicate at one time between Genoa, a lighthouse out on the water, likely a small islet, and either Portofino or Porto Venere using light signals. The views from the Castle turret are gorgeous and can be seen in the video and accompanying pictures.
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| File photo from State of Genoa of the Castle |
Some background to the Castle (Castello in Italian) is found sites such as Tripadvisor. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g580223-d5980738-r749918927-Castello_San_Giorgio-Levanto_Italian_Riviera_Liguria.html
It's nice to have the 'real story' from the owner. What an unexpected experience from such a well travelled man.
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| Overlooking Levanto from the Castle |
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