FORT TAGLIATA DEL GIOVO

 

 

We reach Giovo Ligure by taking State Road No. 334: Sassello. At the intersection with State Road No. 542: Pontinvrea, we find the first fortification of the Defence, named Fort Tagliata del Giovo. The reason for this name can be found in its original function, which was to interrupt the road with the moat (the "tagliata") which could only be crossed by using the fortification’s drawbridge. The fortification, which has a polygonal design, was completely surrounded by the moat. Now it is very hard to understand how the complex originally was, because the "tagliata", no longer needed, was dismantled  at the begining of the 1900s in order to allow a regular flow of traffic on the road.

The Fort is made up of two storeys; the part which faced the drawbridge, has now been buried because of the road, but was the ground floor. On the upper floor the heavy artillery and the gunports were located. The side which faces the intersection has partly collapsed, while, of the original moat that surrounded the fortification, only a small part, at the back near the hill, is left.

We strongly advise against visiting the inside of the fortification: due to the decades of abandon, and the collapse of various areas, the building is no longer structurally stable. 

 

 

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