Want to visit a haunted house? Carol King reports on some of Italy’s most spine-chilling locations.
The arrival of Halloween on 31 October sets people thinking of things that go bump in the night. For ghost hunters, Halloween is one of the best times to look out for spirits and Italy is rich in opportunities for those on the trail for spooks.
Halloween stems from the Celtic festival of Samhain held on 31 October to 1 November that celebrated the end of the harvest. In Italy it coincides with Ognissanti (All Saints’ Day) on 1 November; the day after is Commemorazione dei defunti (All Souls’ Day) and a time to pray for the souls of the departed. The timing of the various festivals have made it the time of year most associated with the dead – and for some people ghouls, ghosts and spirits.
Among the most famous Italian apparitions is that said to haunt the Fortezza di Bardi (Bardi Fortress) in Parma, Emilia-Romagna. Built at the end of the 9th century, the fortress became a palace in the 16th century when the noble Landi family took it over. In the 15th century, a young woman called Soleste threw herself from the castle parapet because she believed her sweetheart, a commander of the guards named Moroello, had died. However, Moroello was alive and when he heard of her suicide was heartbroken. He followed her example and also threw himself off the cliff. His ghost is said to appear at the castle searching for his lost love. Researchers at the Centro Studi Parapsicologici di Bologna (Bologna Centre for Parapsychological Studies) have used a thermal camera to photograph what they say is the ghost and the images are on display in the castle hall.
Bardi Fortress, Parma, Emilia Romagna
Built around 1300 by the wealthy Visconti family, the Castello Visconteo (Visconti Castle) in Trezzo sull’Adda, Milan has also been the subject of paranormal investigation. In 2004 the Associazione CROP (CROP Association) used an SLR camera to photograph an anthropomorphic shape that resembled a knight in armour within the castle walls, which they suggest is the ghost of Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan. His nephew Gian Galeazzo, Lord of Pavia, seized the castle in 1385. Galeazzo imprisoned Visconti in the castle and he died there after being poisoned a few months later. Visconti is not the only ghost seen at the castle: in 1973, four German tourists are reported to have seen a group of ghosts when they camped out in the castle grounds for the night. Dressed in helmets and carrying lit torches, the ghosts are thought to have been an army of soldiers. The ghosts invited the tourists to follow them into the castle where there was a party. The tourists are said to have woken up the next morning among some weeds in the castle grounds.
Visconteo Castle, Trezzo sull'Adda, Milan
The ultimate destination in Italy for ghost hunters is Turin and the surrounding area, which has the reputation as one of the most haunted in the world, so much so that it has featured twice on the American TV series ‘Ghost Hunters International’. The first time was in January 2008 for the ‘Evil Unearthed’ episode when the show investigated the Abbazia di Santa Maria di Lucedio (Lucedio Abbey) in Trino, Vercelli, some 37 miles northeast of Turin. Founded in the 12th century as a Cistercian monastery, today the abbey is open to the public as the Principato di Lucedio rice farm. According to legend, in the 16th century girls were sent by the devil to seduce in the monks, who then converted to Satanism. The monks are said to have gone on to perform gruesome rituals and executions. Since then the former abbey is said to have been the focus of aural and visual paranormal activity, such as mists that appear from nowhere, strange lights, moving objects and the sound of whispering voices. When the ‘Ghost Hunters International’ team visited, they reported they had seen shadows, a whispering voice and one member said she felt as if someone had grabbed her shoulder. However, they failed to find any evidence that a pillar said to weep with the tears of prisoners who had been tied to it in times gone by was actually wet – perhaps the team was there at the wrong moment.
Lucedio Abbey, Trino, Vercelli
The second time the ‘Ghost Hunters International’ crew ventured to Turin was in February 2012 for the episode ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ when they visited the Forte di Fenestrelle (Fenestrelle Fort), which is 31 miles west of Turin. Built by the French in 1694, it is Europe’s largest alpine fortification and served as a prison for hundreds of years. Among its prisoners in the 19th century was a French shoemaker Pierre Picaud, who was falsely imprisoned as a spy. Picaud was the inspiration for the character Edmond Dantès in the novel ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’.
Fenestrelle Fort, Turin
His ghost is said to haunt the fortress and locals have seen apparitions, rattling objects and heard screams. This time round the team had more luck, reporting they heard voices, grunts, growls and the sound of footsteps. A rock was thrown at one team member and another felt something touch his hand. All in all, the visit proved suitably hair-raising and perhaps the fortress is not somewhere for the faint hearted on Halloween.
