What is Zavattarello known for?

Tenth-century quadrangular fortress with walls four meters thick, owned by the Dal Verme family for six centuries. Late fourteenth-century condottiero, the most famous lord of the Dal Verme line, captain to the Visconti of Milan. Apennine valley between the Po plain and the Ligurian Sea, one of the more dramatic settings among the Oltrepò Borghi più belli.

Where is Zavattarello?

Zavattarello is a comune in the province of Pavia, Lombardy region of Italy, about 52 kilometers from Piacenza.

Lombardy · Pavia

Zavattarello

A Val Tidone borgo at 525 meters clinging to a ridge below the Castello Dal Verme, the tenth-century Apennine fortress with walls four meters thick.

525m

Elevation

52 km / 32 mi

Nearest hub (Piacenza)

879

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

Zavattarello sits at 525 meters on a ridge in the Alta Val Tidone, the Oltrepò Pavese stretch where the Apennines slope down toward the Po. The name derives from the vulgar Latin savattarellum, the place where savatte, slippers, were made. The Castello Dal Verme towers over the medieval borgo: built in the tenth century, owned by the Dal Verme family for six centuries, a quadrangular fortress with stone walls more than four meters thick, fortified enclosure, stables, chapel, and forty rooms. Jacopo Dal Verme, the late fourteenth-century condottiero, was the most famous lord of the line. The castle now houses the Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Giuseppe e Titina Dal Verme, with the family tombs of the counts inside. The borgo below is stone, partly still walled, crossed by a narrow lane with covered passages climbing to the fortress. The Apennine setting, midway between the Po plain and the Ligurian Sea, gives Zavattarello one of the more dramatic positions among the Borghi più belli of Lombardy.

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Gallery

8 photos · scroll →

Known for

Castello Dal Verme
Tenth-century stone fortress, walls four meters thick, owned by the Dal Verme family for six centuries; quadrangular with forty rooms.
MACA Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Dal Verme
Contemporary art museum inside the castle, dedicated to Giuseppe and Titina Dal Verme, with the family tombs of the counts.
Borgo medievale di Zavattarello
Stone village clinging to the ridge below the castle, partly still walled, crossed by a narrow lane with covered passages.
Chiesa parrocchiale di San Paolo
Parish church in the borgo, with the religious focus of the medieval Val Tidone community.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the right window for the Val Tidone. The castle is open, the ridge trails into the Apennine are dry, and the temperatures at 525 meters stay below the Po-plain heat. May and June bring wildflowers to the surrounding hills; September and October are the dry, gold months of the chestnut harvest. July and August touch thirty degrees, and the borgo holds shade in the covered passages. November through March is quiet. Fog wraps the castle for stretches at a time, many shops close, and the village belongs to its 880 residents. The Apennine wind clears the air enough in winter to see across the valley to the Tortona foothills.