The tower overlooking granite quarries
The Feriolo Tower stands on a rise surrounded by the slopes of Mottarone with its pink granite quarries and overlooking Lake Maggiore. From it, the view overlooks the lower Toce valley.
The fortification features a central tower made of pink and white granite blocks, reaching a height of 9 m. Inside, one can still recognise, in the thickness of the wall, the fireplace with part of the chimney and a basement covered by a barrel vault.
The remains of the enclosure walls, which originally must have consisted of two circles, can also be seen.
The tower, probably dating back to the 12th-13th centuries, was renovated in the second half of the 15th century by Ludovico il Moro.
Due to its strategic position, the hill was equipped with gun emplacements as part of the works for the so-called 'Cadorna Line' during the First World War, which partly utilised the stones of the medieval town wall.
The high ground with the tower can be reached by easy hiking trails from a wide dirt road that branches off from the Strada dei Cavalli or from the mule track that meets in the village of Feriolo at the end of Via alle Cave
