The Castello della Fava was surrounded by three boundary ring walls which enclosed as many areas, the last one, on top of the hill, was the so-called "parade ground", i.e. the place where the troops were gathered and where the guards and the war machines for defending the keep were located. A portal, preceded by a series of steps carved into the rock, allowed access to the large open space at the centre of which the high square tower is still visible (fig. 1).

Fig. 1 - Reconstruction of the Castello della Fava which shows the parade ground (re-elaboration by M. G. Arru, reconstruction by Unicity S.p.A.).

Inside the parade ground there was a line of three water tanks (ranging in size from 4x5 to 4x10 metres) which guaranteed the water supply to the Castello della Fava in the event of a prolonged siege. On either side of the area there were also other structures, probably warehouses or stables, perfectly incorporated in the city walls, according to a thirteenth century construction model. There are only a few traces left of these buildings, limited to the walls crests which identify the perimeter. The tanks probably had a barrel vault ceiling (figs. 2-4).

Fig. 2 - Detail of the wall crests which define the structure of the parade ground (photo by E. Dirminti).

Fig. 3 - Plan of the Castello della Fava (from FOIS 1992, fig. 204a).

Fig. 4 - Section of the Castello della Fava; note the vaulted roofs of the tanks (from FOIS 1992, fig. 204c).