Castello di Illasi

Located on the ridge of the hill overlooking the village of Illasi, the castle was tasked with helping, along with the castle of Soave, to control the valley pathways.

The earliest records date back to the year 1000 when the castle was owned by a deacon. In 1243 it was occupied by Ezzelino III da Romano, indicated by a seal of Pope Nicholas IV as the restorer of the complex, which was not in good condition.

Privately owned by Della Tavola family during the 13th century, in 1269 the castle was occupied by Pulcinella delle Carceri, who was in conflict with Mastino I della Scala, and used it as his refuge. The following year, Statuto Albertino records the act of transfer of the complex by Umberto della Tavola to Alberto I della Scala, along with the castle of Soave and other fortifications. The Scala family revitalized the complex and carried out various consolidation interventions.

In 1280, a Padua raid left signs of its passage. However, the damage caused by the return of the Venetian troops (1405) sent to seize the castle from the da Carrara family, allied with Guglielmo, the illegitimate son of Cangrande della Scala, was more severe. The captain of the Carrara troops, noticing that the inhabitants of Illasi were not favorable to the delivery of the fortress, set fire to the castle, which sustained severe damage.

The castle came back to be a theater of war in 1439. Nicolò Piccinino, a mercenary captain in the service of Filippo Maria Visconti, set up camp in Illasi after inflicting a severe defeat on the Venetian troops and occupying the castle of Soave.

When the flag of St. Mark returned, the castle gradually lost importance in military matters, also as a result of Venice's peace policy. In 1509, it decided to grant it as a fief to a valiant leader, Girolamo Pompei known as "Malanchino." The investiture represented for the Pompei not only an act of generosity but also constituted their reintegration into a possession enjoyed for centuries and which, through a series of historical-military events, had ended up in "foreign" hands.

The Pompei family maintained their residence during the 17th and 18th centuries, later replaced in the 18th century by the villa built at the foot of the same hill.

 

From an architectural point of view, the castle is composed of two buildings, according to the typical model of Scaliger's fortifications in the province of Verona: the keep, or the residence of the lord, flanked by the barracks, that was the soldiers' dormitory. The keep has a square plan of 10 meters on each side and a height of 32 meters, and possesses a part intended for cisterns, storage, and various services; this part is connected to the barracks, located about ten meters away, via a narrow passage. The barracks has an elevated access on a base approximately 8 meters high; it has a rectangular base with an overall height of 26 meters, divided into two floors. It is crowned with battlements located on a walkable terrace.

The walls have an elliptical layout to enclose the underlying hill and are marked by a single access door located on the southern side. Everything was constructed with large rectangular blocks of hard tuff.

Furthermore, an underground area has been discovered that has remained intact, with its halls and tunnels yet to be explored.