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Castello di Monte Ursino, Noli

Castello di Monte Ursino, Noli historical timeline

Last updated on October 18, 2026

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The hill is older than the town below it. Noli was founded three times, and the first foundation was on the summit of Monte Ursino, where the castle now stands.

Its first builders were the Del Carretto. The hill conserves ancient elements and constructions of the primitive settlement of Noli during the dominion of that family in the twelfth century. Borghi più belli d'Italia names it the castle of the Del Carretto marquises and places it in the twelfth to fourteenth centuries.

The castle and the wall went up together. The first structure was realised from the twelfth century, as was the wall circuit connected to it in defence of the borgo.

Then Noli left the Del Carretto and became a state. On 7 August 1192 the Republic of Noli was constituted by decree of Henry VI of Swabia, separating from the Del Carretto marquisate of Finale, and this castle became the fortress of a republic rather than of a marquisate.

In the thirteenth century the defences multiplied below. Noli equipped itself with further fortifications and more than seventy town towers, closing the borgo inside the circuit this castle commanded.

In 1552 it was rebuilt for a different kind of war. The present aspect dates from that rebuilding, by captain Andrea da Bergamo on the advice of the Republic of Genoa — Noli's protector — above all in the adaptation of the towers and walls to the new instruments of war. (Borghi più belli d'Italia gives 1522 for the Genoese renovations.)

Thirteen years later the port got its own fort. The Forte del Portello was built in 1565 in defence of the harbour and the shore; it no longer exists.

Verified against Wikipedia, October 2026.

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Checked against Wikipedia — Noli was an ancient centre of the Ligures and a municipium in Roman times; its name is cited in documents of 1004 and 1005 as Naboli, deriving probably from Neapolis, the Greek-Latin for "new city". Some sources would have it arise as a colony of the Ligurian peoples of the Genuati and Sabazi in 317 BC, others hold it much older than Rome; it is however proved that settlements of Intemelii, Ingauni and Sabazi were present in Roman times and that the area was well defended by the ancient Ligurians thanks to its strategic position. The city was founded three times: the first on the summit of Monte Ursino, on which the castle of that name stands; the second in the area adjacent to the church of San Paragorio; the third within the present wall circuit., The first structure of the castello di Monte Ursino was built from the twelfth century, as was the wall circuit connected to it in defence of the borgo; its present aspect and form are datable to the rebuilding of 1552, by captain Andrea da Bergamo and on the advice of the Republic of Genoa, above all in the adaptation of the towers and walls to the new instruments of warfare. The circular keep is enclosed by a polygonal enclosure of irregular form, with the remains of two visibly more recent towers. The same hill conserves ancient elements and constructions of the primitive settlement of Noli during the dominion of the Del Carretto family in the twelfth century., The Republic of Noli was constituted on 7 August 1192 by decree of Henry VI of Swabia and ended on 2 December 1797 with the Italian campaign of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was a maritime republic under protectorate and an oligarchic republic, a protectorate and ally of the Republic of Genoa, having separated from the Del Carretto marquisate of Finale; its head of state was a Podesta and its deliberative organs the Consiglio dei Consoli e dei Capi di casa, and it achieved religious autonomy by obtaining a diocese of its own. Its maximum area was 4 square kilometres, with a population of 1,500 in the eighteenth century; its currency was Genoese, its resources commerce, fishing and olive growing, its productions glass and warships, and it traded with the Byzantine Empire, France, Spain and England, exporting spices, salt and glass. Its territory covered the comune of Noli and nearby possessions including Spotorno, often contested with Savona, Orco Feglino, Mallare, Vado and the island of Bergeggi., In the course of the thirteenth century Noli equipped itself with further fortifications and with more than seventy town towers, closing the borgo within a wall circuit; its political and military alignment with the cause of the Lombard League against Frederick II of Swabia favoured recognition by pope Gregory IX., The Forte del Portello at Noli, no longer existing, was built in 1565 in defence of the port and the Nolese shore; it was later connected with the torre dello Sperone, which housed on its top floor the prison for the gravest offenders. A further work is the Fortezza dell'Eremo at Capo Noli. (October 2026).
Checked against I borghi più belli d'Italia — I borghi piu belli d'Italia gives Noli 2,950 inhabitants with 300 in the borgo itself and an altitude of 2 m above sea level; it records sant'Eugenio as the patron bishop coming from Africa, buried on the islet of Bergeggi in 505 and then translated to Noli in 1192, celebrated on the second Sunday of July; it dates the establishment of the free comune to 1192, marked by a traditional ceremony at the church of San Paragorio on 7 August, and says that by 1202 Noli had become a maritime republic through alliance with Genoa. It names among the medieval towers the thirteenth-century Torre del Comune and Torre della Marina, noting their bold profile and the reddish tone of the brick, calls San Paragorio one of the most important monuments of the region, and gives the tourist office as Via Anton da Noli, telephone 019 748384. (October 2026).

Castello di Monte Ursino, Noli historical timeline

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