A ricetto was a small

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

ified area used in medieval Italian

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s for storing agricultural products, livestock, and working tools. It was also sometimes used for protection of the residents in case of attack, particularly from

marauders Marauder, marauders, The Marauder, or The Marauders may refer to: * A person engaged in banditry or related activity ** Piracy ** Looting ** Outlaw ** Partisan (military) ** Robbery ** Theft Entertainment * ''Marauder'', the second novel in t ...

and bands of

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

s and

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

from invading armies. A ricetto typically consisted of multiple buildings enclosed within a thick pentagonal perimeter, sometimes accompanied by a guard tower.

Bibliography

* Centini, Massimo (2010), ''Guida insolita ai misteri, ai segreti, alle leggende e alle curiosità dei castelli del Piemonte'', Newton Compton Editori. * Settia, Aldo A. (2001), ''L'illusione della sicurezza: fortificazioni di rifugio nell'Italia medievale, ricetti, bastite, cortine'', Società per gli studi storici, archeologici e artistici della provincia di Cuneo. Architecture in Italy Fortifications by type Fortifications in Italy {{Italy-hist-stub