Castello di Punta Pagana
A 17th-century Genoese fort, now owned by the Order of Malta.
The Castello di Punta Pagana is a 17th-century fort on Punta Pagana, within Villa Pagana in Rapallo, Metropolitan City of Genoa, Italy. It was built by the Republic of Genoa and now belongs to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Along with two other castles, it formed part of the Genoese coastal defence system for the western Tigullio gulf.
Quick Facts
- Part of
- the Castelli del Tigullio
- Location
- Rapallo, Metropolitan City of Genoa, Liguria
- Country
- Italy
- Owner
- Sovereign Military Order of Malta
- Built
- 1625–1631
- In use
- 1631–1705
- Builder
- Republic of Genoa
- Condition
- Intact
Facts from the source article.
History
Construction of the fort began in April 1625 by the Republic of Genoa, with contributions from the capitaneati of Rapallo, Recco, Chiavari and the podesterie of Moneglia and Sestri Levante. Open hostilities between Genoa and Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, prompted fears of a Piedmontese attack and made the fort necessary. The project cost over 50,000 lire, funded by new taxes that paid for materials and workers. By December 1625 construction was well advanced, and the moat and drawbridge were finished by 1627.
The fort was fully completed and commissioned on 28 July 1631, armed with sufficient weapons, ammunition and gunpowder for a sudden assault. The area was never attacked by pirates or enemy soldiers, and the fort never saw combat. In 1644 the Genoese senate ordered the castellan to abandon the fort and send its military equipment to Genoa by galley. The castle later served as headquarters of the Commissariato di Sanità di Rapallo.
After the Bombardment of Genoa in 1684, the fort was rearmed due to renewed fears, but no attack occurred, and it was finally abandoned in 1705. It became private property within the grounds of Villa Pagana. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta has owned the fort since 1959, when the villa's last owner transferred the entire property to the Order.
More in Castles and Fortifications of the Knights Hospitaller
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced