After the collapse of the Roman Empire (V-VI century AD), the upper River Brenta valley became a crossroads for the Barbarian populations that were entering the Italian peninsula using the same roads that had previously brought so much prosperity.
It is in this period of profound insecurity that the origins of Castle Selva can be found. The hill on which the garrison was built became, as in prehistoric times, a place of refuge. The protection of the solid community having failed, the area’s population, through its own initiative, constructed defensive structures. They started with a simple temporary enclosing structure that were expanded and enlarged until the structure became a fort and then eventually a castle.
Differing from other fortified structures in the area, such as “Tor Quadra” in Novaledo and the “Tor Tonda” in Rocegno, both of which are not in elevated areas, the choice of the construction site for Castle Selva seems to favour the inaccessibility more that domination of the communication routes.
