Castello dei Marchesi del Carretto (Ponti)

Ancient Roman station located along the Via Emilia Scauri, Ponti entered the Aleramic Brand by granting Ottone to Aleramo and then became infeuded to the Del Carretto family which between the 13th and 14th centuries built a castle that became one of their privileged residences in the Bormida valley.^[1]

The events of the fortification were closely linked to the Del Carretto family whose existence has been attested at least since the 13th second, built according to the local tradition on what was previously a castrum Roman.^[2]

The castle, placed on a dominant position compared to the town on the top of the city hill, was the centerpiece of feudal power in the area; moreover, from the acts of the notary Giovanni Berruti it is evident that in the fifteenth century the walls of the house descended from the castle going to encapsulate inside them the area of the Assumption and a portion of the inhabited with the presence of a door to serve as access to the fortified village.^[2]

From 1635 the Carretto shared Ponti's feud with the Guerrieri family, who gradually took a prominent position in the management of the castle and the town also thanks to the collaboration of the Servinti family;^[2] After several passages of ownership, Ponti entered the domains of Casa Savoia.^[1]

The castle was damaged by the passage of Spanish troops and in 1769 cannoned during the Napoleonic Italian countryside, these events, combined with a generalized nightmare, brought the castle to the current state of ruins.^[3]

The castle is positioned in a dominant manner compared to the historical nucleus of the village, immediately above the ancient parish church, witnessing the political and symbolic role once exercised by the feudal lords on the village.^[2]

Originally constituted by a defensive system that united the reception to the municipal walls during the Renaissance part of the building was converted to a stately residence.^[3]

To date of the ancient castle survive some wall remains and ruins of the old tower^[1] known as Battalion, at the beginning of the 21st century the area was affected by recovery and consolidation interventions.^[4]

• Rosella Seren Rosso, The castles of Piemonte. The provinces of Asti and Alessandria, Cavallermaggiore, Gribaudo, 2000, ISBN 9788880581628.

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