Després passà a ser el castell més important de la vall d'Àssua dins la baronia dels Bellera, primer; dels comtes de Foix, després, i de la senyoria dels Oliver Boteller al segle XVI, fins que a la dècada de 1580 s'integrà a la corona reial com a cap del cinquè quarter del vescomtat de Castellbò.
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The village of Rialp was originally settled around the castle that lays on the prominence on the right bank of La Noguera Pallaresa, from where they used to watch the traffic to the valleys of Àssua and the valleys of the High Pallars. In the beginning, it was a watchtower or the foundations of the Castle of Surp. Later, it became the most important castle in the valley, firstly under the barons of the Bellera family; after that, it belonged to the counts of Foix, and in the 15th century under the lordship of the Oliver Boteller family, until in the 1580s, when it became part of the royal crown as a capital of the fifth quarter inside the vescomtat (land of the viscount) of Castellbò.In 1281 it was ruled by Pons de Ribelles, who offered it to king Pere II el Gran as a fort, on the event of the first siege of Balaguer.The castle was a constant controversy because, even though it was inside the limits of the county of Pallars, it did not belong to the counts of El Pallars, which always caused confusion and conflicts caused by the ambition of these nobles.In 1355, prince Pere, lieutenant of Catalunya, interceded between Count Hug Roger I and Ramon Arnau de Bellera for the jurisdiction of Rialp. In 1361, the count received from Bellera himself the acknowledgement that the castle, the territory and the village of Rialp were inside the limits and the jurisdiction of the county of El Pallars. To disproved it, however, in some documents dated from 1381 and 1390 it appears as a property of the Bellera family.The excellet strategic situation added to the exploitation of the forest of Sobac (the present Port-Ainé) made the fights last until it was eventually sold. In 1435, Jaume de Bellera signed the legal documents that sold the castle of Rialp, the valleys of Àssua and of Baiasca for 10.000 florins to Gastó IV, count of Foix. Even Gastó IV had the signed papers, he could not take possession of the castle until March 1460.In 1462, king Ferran II el Catòlic invavded the kingdom of Navarra, and Alfons IV el Magnànim took the castle of Rialp by military force.In 1493, (if not, otherwise stated as property of the Foix) Caterina, queen of Navarra, countess of Foix and viscountess ofde Castellbò, gave the castle as a feud to Joan Xiberri, also known as Matxicot, only on the condition that he would rebuild the castle and its walls. He founded or rebuild a wall tarting at the castle, going to the plain, surroinding the village in a semicircular shape and ascended to the castle on the other side; on both ends opened each a portal, one of them, Sant Antoni can still be seen today, while the portal of la Noguera has long disappeared; He also built towers, some of which are still standing today (precisely the tower of Virós, remains as a private house).In 1498, Joan Xiberri, Matxicot, sold, as a “carta de gràcia” for 2.500 pounds of the time, the rights and annuities over the village of Rialp and the valley of Àssua.In 1512, it has been found out that the county of Castellbò and its enclave of te castle in Rialp and the valleys of Baiasca and Àssua were under the power of the king and queen of Navarra, Caterina I of Foix and Francesc I Febus. King Ferran II el Catòlic learned about a conspiracy against him, included theses properties as part of the royal crown and put them in the hands of his second wife, Germana of Foix.In 1523, emperor Carles I of Spain, grandson of the Catòlic confirmed Germana as the lady of the territories and possessions.In 1528, Germana conveyed it as a mortgage, in a “carta de gràcia”, the territories to Lluís Oliver de Boteller. King Carles consented, with the condition that a proportional laudemium was satisfied and that Oliver ruled it as a royal feud.On 24th November 1548, the crown redeemed from Lluís Oliver, the county of Castellbò with all its properties. One of the m was known as the quarter of Rialp, that included Rialp, the centre, the valley of Àssua and the valleys of Baiasca.The lands were associated to the viscounty of Castellbò until the end of the lordship dominion, at the beginning of the 19th. However, it seems that in the 16th the castle was abandoned and the village was testimony of its importance in the past. The village was the capital of the valley of Àssua.At the moment, there are two stone walls in the castle, both with Roman arch windows with folded internal and undecorated supports that form external loopholes. Both these walls, making a right angle, are in very bad conditions, about to be falling down due to the passing of time. One of them is about 8 metres high and 9.5 metres long, while the other is 5 metres long. Thus, we can say that the base would have been a rectangular shape of about 50 m2 with different levels. The size of the building did not offer room enough for a troop to settle, neither it could have resisted a extensive siege for a long period of time.
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