The Pizzighettone village is located on the left bank of Adda, fronted, on the opposite bank, by the correspondent fortified nucleus of Gera. Taking advantage of the special natural defences due to the confluence of Serio Morto con l’Adda, the site was provided with a castle and walls since 12th century. The Visconti, in the second half of the fourteenth century, empowered (and perhaps largely rebuilt) the castle, then, in the first half of the 15th century, strengthened also the walls of the village. Under Spanish domination Pizzighettone assumed the role of fundamental strongpoint, with Lecco, Lodi and Cremona, of that defensive line that the owners of Milan attested on Adda and on Po river in opposition to Venice. In 1639 the cut of the Adda River in correspondence with Pizzighettone was realized according to Barattieri’s project ” cò quali sarà ridotto il fiume à camminar rettamente ..” with the obvious aim to “drop” the waters of the river against the fortress of Pizzighettone, making the defence more secure. As a result of this intervention, from 1646, the walls were surrounded by a ring of bastions. Later, during the Austrian domination and ordered by Charles VI, a comprehensive reform of Pizzighettone fortifications was realized, starting from 1720, with the construction of a ramparts on the west of the town of Gera and the strengthening of the medieval walls by adding a crown of masonry casemates, various defensive measures, and a large defensive moat outside. After the the nineteenth century dismantling and the cancellation of part of the seventeenth bastions due to the massive expansion of the town to the east, today only significant parts are preserved: traces of the Castle, the pillboxes near the ancient walls, the Rivellino to guard the road to Cremona, ramparts and embankment works of Gera.

STATE OF CONSERVATION

Abandonment and lack of maintenance caused the proliferation of invasive vegetation both inside and outside the building. Masonry joints are often absent or worn out by vegetation that has often overridden the walls becoming part of them.