Castrum

The Latin term castrum, originally referring to the fortification within which a Roman military contingent was established, continues to be used in the Middle Ages and in the case of Serravalle refers to the settlement, simultaneously military and residential, of the Da Camino family, between the 11th and 14th centuries, and later of the Podestà of the Republic of Venice, from 1337 to 1797. Located dominating the narrowest part of the valley, controlling the only road that ascended it, the Castrum is built from an embankment supported by powerful crenellated walls, the hub of the fortification system that embraced Serravalle developing on the opposite slopes. Documented in 1170, but presumably older, it retains minimal parts of the buildings that surrounded it, including a church: abandoned in the second half of the 18th century, it was effectively dismantled between the 19th and 20th centuries, leaving only the entrance tower, with a drawbridge, near the upper gate of the village, a circular keep, and a fortress. The recovery of the surviving structures occurred in the 1930s, when access from the square of via Roma was opened, thinking of a public use of the area.