Castel Pietra
Castel Pietra is one of the most important examples of castles built to control the transit routes along the valley bottom.
Castel Pietra is a castle situated in the Valle del Primiero, perched on a rocky outcrop to the left of the main road to Passo Cereda, at the entrance to the Val Canali.
Legend dates it back to the time of Attila the Hun, although it was more likely commissioned by the bishops of Feltre. It was first mentioned in 1273.
In 1401, when Venetian rule ended, the castle became the property and summer residence of the Welsperg family. It was destroyed by the Venetians in 1511 and partly rebuilt in 1565, yet suffered more fires and devastation and was abandoned altogether in 1675. In 1865, the Canali stream below the castle burst its banks, eroding part of the rock on which it stood, leading to its further collapse.
Its ruins, restored in the 1980s, belong to Count Georg Siegmund Thun-Hohenstein-Welsperg. The ancient appearance of the castle can only be reconstructed with the aid of old illustrations: a square layout, which probably extended to two floors. The lords lived in the lower part, which included a large hall and a small private chapel dedicated to Saint Leonardo, whereas the upper part housed several processing works (a mill, sawmill and forge), as well as the soldiers' quarters."
