Norantola Castle (Ruin)

It seems that the oldest elements of the enclosure wall date from the 12th century. Documents from 1248 and 1295 already mention two men, Locarnus and Petrus Norantola from a noble family, who presumably erected this work. This family, however, could not resist the ever-growing power of the Lords of Sax-Misox, and so they became the owners around 1300. Since then, no trace of the fate of the Norantola has been found.

Later, the castle fell back to a parallel family line of Sax-Misox, the Sax-Norantola. This powerful family flourished parallel to their cousins Sax-Misox - incidentally elevated to the rank of counts - at the end of the 14th century. However, in 1452, Count Henri of Sax-Misox had a contract drawn up that regulated the exercise of manorial rights with the inhabitants of the Mesolcina valley, thereby ignoring the rights they had held since the Sax-Norantola and the other branches of the family. Thus, the rights of the Lords of Norantola were abolished.

In 1480, a conflict arose between Peter von Sax and Gian Giacomo Trivulzio regarding the sale of the Lordship of Mesocco. The Duke of Milan, an ally of Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, then tried to win over the Sax families, who had been disadvantaged for 30 years. An agreement between the Duke and the Sax-Norantola seemed to come about, even if the restoration of Norantola Castle (it had been abandoned and already ruined) never took place. During the battles between the Count and the Duke of Milan, the castle was set on fire by the troops of Sax-Misox in 1483, and since then the castle fell into ruin. As for the line of the Sax-Norantola, documents only mention Bellinzona during the 16th century.