Ruderi del Castello di Cervinara

The ruins of Cervinara Castle, located on the slopes of Mount Pizzone, represent the remains of the fortress that the Cervinara community used to call "O' Castellone" or "Ioffredo".

The first mention of the Castle is found in a 12th-century document, "Cronaca del Volturno", in which a certain Friar John refers to an exchange, in 837, between the Abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno (Saint Vincent) and the Lombard Prince Sicardo of Benevento. It is possible to assume that the building of the defensive fortress dates back to the Lombard period and that the ancient medieval village corresponds to today's hamlets of Castello and Ioffredo. Destroyed by the militia of Ruggiero II, known as the "Norman", during the fight against his brother-in-law Rainulfo Butterico, Count of Avellino, the Castle was then rebuilt and enlarged at various times by the Normans, the Swabians and the Angevins, before being abandoned by the feudal lords of Cervinara.

The "Castello Ioffredo" still retains its original square plan, some parts of the curtain wall, which allow us to outline the defence towers, seven turrets, the donjon and part of the residence of the local feudal lords. The quadrangular donjon was built on three floors, with a barrel-vaulted ceiling, accessed through trap doors. Like all mediaeval castles, that of Cervinara was surrounded by a moat that prevented an easy assault on the structure and had a drawbridge, beyond which any assailants entered an open space, on which the defenders could rage with arrows, oil and hot pitch.

The ruins of the Cervinara Castle, which has survived the ravages of the Middle Ages, are still shrouded in an aura of mystery and legend that has been passed down for generations among the townspeople.