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A ghost is said to roam the rooms and gardens of the
Castle of Agazzano, in
the province of Piacenza: the spirit of Pier Maria Scotti, a noble
adventurer who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries, and who –
according to some 18th-century chronicles, was “feared much more than
Caesars’ entire army in Piacenza”, where he “provoked the scourge of
civil discord”.
Pier Maria Scotti, also known as Conte Buso for
his sword skills (“buso” meaning “hole”, for the “signature” he left on
his victims’ body), was a sanguinary man. He was count of Vigoleno and
Carpaneto, siding with the Guelfs, but eagerly turned to the Ghibellines
when it served his own interests – such as when he was paid by famous
condottiero Prospero Colonna to besiege Piacenza, which he entered
“suddenly with a thousand bandits, whom he had yelling ‘Long live the
Duke!’ as their Springalds roared.”
He attempted the siege of
Piacenza, without success. He had the castle of Vigoleno and Travazzano
destroyed . He died at forty, in August
1521, while attacking the Castle of Agazzano; Milan émigré Astorre
Visconti killed him and threw him down into the moat, but his body was
never found.
Thus began the legend of his supernatural presence
inside the Castle of Agazzano, a fortress divided into two buildings:
the Renaissance castle built in 1475, and the late-1700s palace.
This is Count Buso’s home, now and forever.
Family
Pier
(or Pietro) Maria Scotti
was the son of Count Francesco Maria Scotti (? -1511).
He married
Camilla Scotti di Fombio , with whom he had a son, Galeazzo.
See
also:
• Pietro Maria
Scotti, known as Buso.
This character, (who with his exploits animated the Piacenza
chronicles from 1514 until his death in September 1521), presents very
interesting aspects from the point of view of the factions.
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