One among the most evocative castles in the region, the fort of Villalta boasts an ancient history and is immersed in a natural setting of extreme beauty. The castle of Villalta, dating back to the 10th-11th centuries, was destroyed several times and then rebuilt due to the bitter fights caused both by its strategically important position and by the turbulence of its feudal lords. Nevertheless, it has not lost its original configuration of fortified work, with the high tower, the walls provided with Ghibelline battlements, drawbridges and loopholes.
Lugubrious legends hovered over the castle and for many decades the Counts of the Tower were banished from it. They came back into possession only after the fall of the Serenissima (in 1797).
INTEREST: The legend of Ginevra and Odorico
Ginevra di Strassoldo was a beautiful girl and, although still very young, had been betrothed to Federico di Cuccagna. When the time came for the wedding, Ginevra declared her love for Count Odorico di Villalta. Ginevra's father, loving her very much, consented to the marriage with the Count, thus breaking the agreement with Cuccagna. It was 1344 when Ginevra and Odorico were married.
Having arrived at the gates of the castle of Villalta, Guinevere was imprisoned by Federico di Cuccagna who, feeling betrayed, had besieged the manor and banished Odorico. However, Federico was unable to use violence on Ginevra, since, according to legend, the young girl turned into a marble statue.
Odorico, however, managed to take back the castle and kill his rival. When Odorico found a stone statue that resembled Guinevere in a room in the tower, he embraced her in tears and the statue returned to its human form.
The happiness of the couple did not last long, however. Odorico went off to war and never returned. Ginevra never stopped waiting for him, so much so that, it is said, even today on full moon nights you can still hear the moans of the beautiful but unfortunate girl.
