Passirano Castle

Passirano Castle, locally known as Castello di Passirano, lies next to the village of the same name, in the Brescia province in the Lombardy region in Italy.

A castle at this site was first mentioned around the year 1000, which was probably built in the century before. It was built in reaction to repeated raids of Hungarians. At that time it was called the castle of Passirano Sera.

The castle was rebuilt somewhere around the 14th century into its present appearance. Passirano most likely never served as the home of a lord, but was purely used as a place of refuge for the locals in times of trouble. In more peaceful times it would have stood empty. This might be the reason why it survived to the present day. In later centuries the castle was turned into a farm.

The castle, which was owned by the municipality, passed to the Conti Fenaroli family in 1722 and from these, in 1880, to the Fassati di Balzola marquises. The latter still own it today.

The square corner tower is called 'Torre della Specula' because in the 18th century it contained an astronomical observatory. The large gate in the north wall dates back to that same century.

Passirano Castle can only be admired externally. It now houses a winery and I have no idea if it can ever be visited. A beautiful castle. In neighboring villages you can find the castles of Bornato and Oldofredi.

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