It appears from sporadic documents that the old castle of Spigno was located approximately where the two present-day Spingardi villas and Umberto I Square are located. It dates back to the 12th and 13th centuries. Around it were service buildings, stables, dwellings, all enclosed by walls, with one side jutting out over the Bormida. They constituted a kind of shelter. In 1625 the Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel I invaded the Duchy of Monferrato and the Marquisate of Spigno.
The castle is destroyed; however, the Spanish troops induce the Savoy troops to retreat. The palace of Marquis Marcantonio Asinari, currently Spingardi Palace, is built. After Alfonso Asinari’s death his brother Federico, of authoritarian character with great military experience, becomes marquis. In 1641 he decided to have a new castle built, slightly separated from the town, consisting of a rectangular circle of walls with round towers at the corners. In the center is a multi-story residential palace.
In 1648 Savoyard troops, during a raid, blew up the castle, which was still under construction. Remains of the keeps, the best preserved at the entrance to the cemetery, and a remnant of the central palace are visible.
