Castello di Pissignano / Borgo Lizori

Lizori and the Spoleto valley below used to be preferred garrisons of imperial and republican Rome, of commanders and senators (for instance, it was Caius Marius Silla who had the tower soaring above the hamlet built in the second century B.C.), as well as legendary conquerors coming from over the Alps, such as the Germanic Barbarossa and later Frederick II; the site served as an exclusive refuge for emperors and popes, as a watchtower and a military stronghold, its location was chosen by mystics and clerics (from the Lombard and Carolingian era on) and were coveted by the neighbouring duchies while along the hillside, within the urban walls - the flashpoint border between Spoleto, Todi, Trevi and Foligno - the medieval settlement with its current layout was being built. Its perimeter defence structures represent one of Italy’s few perfectly preserved triangular hillside fortifications.