A ghost is said to roam the rooms and gardens of the Castle of Agazzano, in the province of Piacenza: the spirit of Pier Maria Scotti, a noble adventurer who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries, and who – according to some 18th-century chronicles, was “feared much more than Caesars’ entire army in Piacenza”, where he “provoked the scourge of civil discord”.

Pier Maria Scotti, also known as Conte Buso for his sword skills (“buso” meaning “hole”, for the “signature” he left on his victims’ body), was a sanguinary man. He was count of Vigoleno and Carpaneto, siding with the Guelfs, but eagerly turned to the Ghibellines when it served his own interests – such as when he was paid by famous condottiero Prospero Colonna to besiege Piacenza, which he entered “suddenly with a thousand bandits, whom he had yelling ‘Long live the Duke!’ as their Springalds roared.”