Ghost Hunters International - S02E05 - Spirits of Italy - HDTV

Ghost Hunters International - S02E05 - Spirits of Italy



The GHI team travels to Italy and investigate the Malaspina Castle, Then they investigate Palazzo Ducale





Background on the locations



The Malaspina Castle is located in Massa, Italy. It crowns the top of a rocky hill and dominates the wide underlying plain and part of the Tyrrhenian coast. From the 1600s the main purpose of the castle was military and it served as a prison until 1946.The castle was subsequently restored and reopened to the public.The first record on castle dates back to 1164.In 1269 because of political discords with local inhabitants it was leveled to the ground by the army of the nearby city of Lucca. The castle became the seat of the marquises of Massa. It was visited by Dante Alighieri, who supposedly envisioned the descending circles of Hell, that inspired the corresponding part of his Divine Comedy. According to legend, Dante saw the great funnel-shaped cave lying below, surrounded by a series of ledges with the slopes converging to the stream.





The Palace of the Doges of Genoa ("Palazzo Ducale" in Italian) is one of the most important historical buildings of the Ligurian city.Once the home of the Doges, it is now a museum and a centre for cultural events and arts exhibitions. It is situated in the heart of the city, with two different entrances and facades, the main one on Piazza Matteotti, and the second one on Piazza De Ferrari.The first parts of the Palace were built between 1251 and 1275, during the flourishing period of the Republican history of Genoa, while the Torre Grimaldina (also named "Torre del Popolo" - Tower of the People) was completed in 1539.The Palace of the Doges was restored in 1992, in occasion of the celebrations of Christopher Columbus and the 500th anniversary of the colonization of America.On the main floor, the so called Piano Nobile, are the frescoed halls of the Maggior and Minor Consiglio, where many public events take place.In July 2001 the Palace hosted the G8 Summit, which was attended by the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and United States.