The foundation of the present castle dates back to Pietro Berardi, Count of Celano, in 1392. In 1451, Lionello Acclozamora had built the âpiano nobileâ with its patrol passage and four corner towers.
The work was finished by Antonio Piccolomini who contributed to the transformation of the castle as an essentially military building to a comfortable, noblemanâs dwelling. It became a residential castle belonging to the Savelli, Sforza-Cesarini, De Torres and finally the Dragonetti families.
The earthquake of 1915 caused terrible damage and the castle was abandoned until restoration work began in 1940. The work was interrupted by the second world war and concluded in 1960. From the south-west side you enter the castle by a double entrance, the first one with a draw bridge and the second older entrance has a pointed arch. The castle wall surrounding the building is asymmetrical with 11 square turrets and 5 round turrets.
The castle is rectangular and has three floors. In the court yard you see a double row of galleries and in the centre there is a well which collets rain water in the underground cistern. On the loggia of the âpiano nobileâ there is the excellent chapel portal of Saint Andrea (fifteenth century) which bears the coat-of-arms of the Piccolomini family. Today the castle is the seat of the Museo di Arte Sacra (Museum of sacred art) of the Marsica region.