Ruins of Forcella castle

The ruins visible on the top of the hill, to the south-east, are what remains of the ancient castrum Forcellae, founded in 1168 by the Ghibelline Counts of Aspramonte and Montefiore for defensive purposes, and the center of numerous disputes with the bishop of Fermo in the following decades.

Massignano was probably born or developed as a center subjected to this castle.

Of triangular perimeter, of the complex remain today only the remains of the main tower, plus some traces of walls and artificial cliffs that surrounded the settlement.

At the highest point the important element was a massive rectangular bastion, which probably stood above a ramp to access the fortress and thus served as a defense of the castle gate.

The access door to the tower was placed on the second floor, where the discovery of some stones with rectangular holes suggest the use of a latch for the barrier.

Towards the sea there were two manholes in order to spill hot or flammable liquids on the besiegers, while on the side of the tower there is still a deep well with a cistern for water supply.

The ruins show the remarkable thickness of the walls of over a meter and a half and also, to careful observation, large pieces of opus caementicium, testimony of construction grafted on a villa of Roman times.

Legend has it that from the fortress starts an underground tunnel that leads to Cupra Marittima, and that at some point there is a hen with twelve golden chicks, a treasure that can be conquered only through a complicated procedure that, however, no one is aware of.