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The
Castle of Griante from 1521up to nowadays
Following
the cruel habit of the times, the assaulters not
only attacked the castle, but also set the village
of Griante and the surrounding lands on fire.
Also the tower at the north hand side of the dungeon,
the one which hosted the fight of stairs leading
to the upper floors, was probably set on fire.
As a matter of facts, in 1964, during some restoration
works of what once was the main body of the castle,
(today residential country house) the burned ends
of the beams, which supported the stairs, were
found.
Notwithstanding the cannon shots, the less damaged
of all towers was the main one which roused at
about twenty meters south from the dungeon. For
over three hundred years it stood as a landmark
to remind those terrible events, and its legend
survived with it. It was said that, in stormy
nights, the bloody ghosts of John the Crazy and
of his brother used to appear on top of the tower
at which foot they had their head chopped off,
screaming in anguish but, once more, terrifying
the people of Griante.
The
tower was pulled down in 1859 to give room to
the garden of what had, in the meantime, become
a peaceful and serene country house for the Riva:
a noble family from Como.
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