In the fourteenth and fifteenth century Garlasco Castle was important enough to merit the title propugnaculum Papiae as a Pavia bulwark playing an important role in the town's defence. Of the original building only its imposing tower has survived (with its Ghibelline battlements, elegant sawtooth decorations and the camber of the drawbridge) which escaped destruction by Giovanni delle Bande Nere in 1524.