Visit to Groppallo

It is located in the Val Nure Piacenza Apennines, Groppallo is popular summer resort, especially by emigrants from France back to the homeland.
The town developed on the slopes of Monte Castellaro, important relief for having housed in a medieval fortress.
Little has been handed down from written sources on medieval castle, which was to occupy for the entire flat top of the cliff, extended approximately a half acre.
It seems that in 1186 the fort was owned by the Bishop of Piacenza and that these are reserved the right to nominate the castle. Safer is the news that came from the chronicle of Piacenza Codagnello, from which we learn as October 1260 the manor was stormed and burned by ghibellino John Luxardo, forcing the new owners, the Marquis Guelph "from Gropallo", to take refuge in Genoa.
In 1515 the castle was damaged by Count Pietro Maria Scotti said the "Buso". At the end of the sixteenth century on the ruins of the castle, which will no longer be remembered by the sources, was built the parish church dedicated to the Assumption. The massive reconstruction works of the church (1909 - 1915), made in connection with other works such as the construction of the large cemetery and the construction of the large central square, resulted in the almost complete destruction of both the remnants of the fort, is testimony to it earlier, represented by traces of settlements perched periods of Ligurian Iron and Bronze Age.
Despite various reports of the presence of artifacts all testimony of the various periods of prehistoric and historic occupation of the cliff, only in the fall of 2006 at the project further enlargement of the area behind the cemetery and following some checks performed by the Heritage Office Archaeological in collaboration with the Municipality of Farini, was launched at the archaeological dig in the area affected by the work.
And thanks to these recent archaeological excavations have unearthed fragments of pottery decorated "wave" of lombard (VI-VII century), charred remains of a barn and the planting of a workshop for the preparation of grains steatite, finds copper, bronze, iron and medieval coins.
Finally it should be noted that the small town of Groppallo is renowned for traditional country fair for the August holiday with religious celebration in the morning, stalls along the center of the country and balloon trip in the afternoon.