Nanno Castle

The atmosphere of delicate tranquility that today hovers in the surrounding countryside is not enough to erase the macabre memory of the dramatic events that Castel Nanno witnessed. A stone engraved with three crosses remains a perpetual reminder of the stake that burned, according to legend, three young men accused of witchcraft in the distant seventeenth century. HISTORY Of the original nucleus of Castel Nanno, built in medieval times by the Nanno family and then destroyed by the Tono family, only a dilapidated tower remains close to the north-east facade. Of the ancient nature of a stronghold, the reconstruction carried out in the mid-sixteenth century by the family of the Madruzzo princes from Vesuvius, preserved no trace; transforming the castle into an elegant summer residence whose appearance, more than any other castle in the Val di Non, is close to the Italian Renaissance canons. The square structure, with strong Palladian echoes, is characterized by the sturdy central tower and the crenellated walls, reinforced at the corners by four control turrets. The different floors of the castle, whose rooms recall the elegant and sumptuous life of the past due to their wooden ceilings and frescoes, are connected to each other by a stone staircase with a balustrade parapet. THE LEGEND Castel Nanno is also the setting for a legendary and tragic love story: that of Melisenda, daughter of the owner of the manor, and Ludovico, a young scion of the Sporo family, an ancient opponent of the nobles of Nanno. The legend tells of how the two young people continued to love each other without their parents' knowledge until they were discovered by the young woman's father who, furiously, ordered the two lovers to be walled up alive in two small niches located under the main staircase of the manor. It was the evening of May 2, a very long time ago and since that day, it is said that every year, during the cool nights of May, the lament of the two unfortunate young people echoes within the walls of the ancient castle.