The most fascinating castles and fortresses in Italy
Italy boasts several cherished monuments and architectural beauties, but the castles are unquestionably among the the most evocative in terms of appeal. Perched on majestic mountains, immersed in fairy-tale landscapes or lapped by the waters, castles and fortresses explain to us extended-long gone stories, on the border in between actuality and legend.
The fortresses are really equivalent to castles, fortification performs consisting of a wall of appreciable thickness and towers. Usually, they are identified in extremely suggestive villages or historical centres, areas that bring visuals of princesses, knights and battles to head. Right here below is the list of some of the most intriguing ones.
Monteriggioni fortress, Tuscany
Many thanks to its majesty and grandeur, the Monteriggioni fortress, in the province of Siena, has a pure vacationer vocation. Each and every calendar year, in point, about 70,000 site visitors go to admire the popular Tuscan castle, which exhibits by itself in all its magnificence.
It is no coincidence that just one of the most illustrious travelers, who arrived from Florence, was so amazed that he committed some verses to his most well-known operate. We are chatting about Dante, who was encouraged by Monteriggioni for the giant fixtures in the abyss of Malebolge, in Dante’s Hell.
Rocca Calascio, Abruzzo
Inside the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, at 1460 m, stands the Rocca di Calascio, in the province of L’Aquila. The imposing medieval structure, all created in white stone, is just one of the optimum in Italy. Perched in the mountains, it overlooks the historic village underneath, now uninhabited. Its undoubted allure has produced it a great placing for a number of movies, which include the unforgettable “Ladyhawke” and “The Name of the Rose”, but also the most modern “The American” with George Clooney.
Aragonese Castle, Ischia island, Amalfi coastline
It stands on an islet and is linked by usually means of a masonry bridge to the ancient Borgo di Celsa, today acknowledged as Ischia Ponte. Many thanks to Alfonso V of Aragon, entry to the castle is attainable by way of a tunnel dug in the rock. In advance of then, it could only be accessed by the sea. The tunnel, 400 meters extended, is illuminated by significant skylights which at the time also acted as “seals” from which boiling oil, stones and other resources have been thrown at any enemies. In this castle, in 1952, some scenes of the movie “The Crimson Pirate” had been shot with Burt Lancaster.
Scaliger Castle, Garda Lake
It is one particular of the most finish and very best-preserved castles in Italy. This castle, situated in Sirmione, is a exceptional example of a lake fortification. The castle is bathed on all sides by the waters of Lake Garda. On just one facet there is the dock, on the other the imposing maintain, with the cells intended for prisoners. The partitions and the a few key towers have dovetail battlements. It is probable to obtain the walkways and also attain the major of the latter, as well as love the splendour of the dock. A sad legend of appreciate needs Ebengardo’s soul to roam the castle in research of his Arice on stormy nights.
Castel del Monte, Puglia
It is surely just one of the most mysterious in Italy, it is a 13th-century building developed by Emperor Frederick II, in the vicinity of the city of Andria. Its octagonal strategy with an octagonal turret for every edge suggests that Castel del Monte was designed in accordance to precise mathematical-astronomical geometries, as effectively as using into account various symbolisms. It does not have any moat or military services architectural ingredient, it does not reside in a strategic position, it has slim spiral staircases certainly uncomfortable for defence and escape features, loopholes far too slim to toss arrows, and no stables. Its strange shape also appears to be to remember that of a crown.
The castles in the Niccone Valley, Umbria/Tuscany border
11 miles extended, where by Tuscany meets Umbria, the Niccone valley owes its name to the Niccone stream, a tributary of the Tiber which is found amongst Umbertide and Cortona. This extensive, broad and peaceful valley is a perfectly-regarded vacation desired destination for selective travellers from all over the earth. Together the valley stand out the peaks of castles and some ‘borghi’, in other text, fortified villages, designed during the Center Ages. These constructions testify to the political and military tension by the Papal States for the expansion of territorial neighbours.
The northern valley wall mainly resides in Tuscany from which, continuing to Umbria, it is attainable to see the exceptional ‘Castello di Pierle’ sitting at the most excessive western part of this large valley. Constructed on the eastern side of Mount Maestrino, the imposing castle dominates the fertile valley just like a majestic eagle. Achieving the castle, its top seems virtually disproportionate to the modest measurement of the hill exactly where the castle is found. All-around the castle, there is a tiny church and some previous houses the place a handful of persons stay in overall tranquillity alongside one another with some domestic animals.
The oldest castle in the complete valley is the Lisciano Castle, courting back again to the 9th-10th century. Built in 1202 by the Marquises of Monte, it was safeguarded by Perugia and then returned under the Papal governing administration in 1479. The castle was also owned by the Marquises of Sorbello. Sad to say, only a couple ruins are remaining of this castle today.
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The Sorbello castle appears so diverse from the other folks since it is a single of the quite few castles in the spot that has Ghibelline traditions, as its crenellated towers display. The primitive bulk of this constructing dates back to the 10th century, whilst the south facet dates back again to the 12th century in 1600 it underwent radical variations and first, it grew to become a consultant palace, then a villa rather. Its historical past is intently linked to the gatherings of the Marquis de Bourbon of Monte S. Maria Tiberina. Within the castle, the noble flats are complete of magnificent ceilings and chests of drawers. Interesting is the waiting space, adorned with stunning 17th-century paintings, and the throne place, in which the Regent dealt with justice.
The castle of Reschio is positioned on the border concerning Perugia and Tuscany, in the municipality of Lisciano Niccone, on a hill about 3 kilometres from the general public road of the Niccone valley. In the Center Ages, the castle was long disputed by the Lords of Perugia, Florence and Città di Castello for its location and numerous housing units. Found within a personal estate, the castle grounds host a couple of luxurious villas offered for getaway rentals.
Leaving Umbertide, in direction of the path of Città di Castello together the Tiberina 3Bis, on the still left appears in the center of the greenery, the castle of Montalto with its high tower. In historic times this castle was a fortress of terrific strategic great importance for the defence of Fratta in opposition to the expansionist targets of Città di Castello.
Daniela De Luca is CEO at House in Italy. Household in Italy is a luxurious villa rental business providing higher end holiday villa encounters during the best locations of Italy due to the fact 1993.
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