The Castle of Carbonana (Castello di Carbonana) is a medieval fortress located on a promontory overlooking the state road 219 that links Gubbio to Umbertide in the region of Umbria, Italy.

History
The first documentary reference to the castle dates to 1192, when Pope Celestine III conferred castrum carbonana to Bentivoglio, bishop of Gubbio. The first lords of the castle were the descendants of Bino di Pietro of the Gabrielli family. Bino di Pietro was the younger brother of Cante Gabrielli, the podestà of Florence who exiled the Dante Alighieri in 1302. In the 14th century, Gubbio also made use of the fortress and its tower to defend and control of the surrounding territory.

In the 1420s, the castle passed to the Porcelli family as a result of the marriage of Giacomo di Galeotto of the Porcelli family to Checca, the widow of Giacomo Gabrielli, who on her mother’s side belonged to the noble Atti di Sassoferrato family. These Porcelli are descendants of Rigo campsor olim de Florentia (a money changer in Florence) whose presence in Gubbio is documented already in 1286.

The Porcelli assumed the position of counts of Carbonana. During the 16th and 17th centuries, members of the family rose to the highest offices in Gubbio and distinguished themselves as mercenaries of the Republic of Venice. The Porcelli patronized the decoration of the castle’s chapel, the enlargement of the castle on the south side and the construction of the elegant round tower on the south-east angle of the bailey. Since the 16th century, the structure has undergone only minor adjustments which never altered substantially its aspect or its proportions of the castle.

The building was bought in 2011 by private owners, who completed in 2014 a restoration under the supervision of the Soprintendenza ai Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici of Umbria. 

Castello di Carbonana

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The Castle of Petroia is a castle near Gubbio in Umbria, Italy.

History
Erection of a fort at the site first began in the 9th and 10th centuries, by the commune of Gubbio. A document from 1073 recalls a substantial fortification at the site, referring to a deed of gift of a "mansum in curte Petroij". In 1257 a few feudal subordinates rose against Gubbio and submitted their castles to the town of Perugia. On 7 May 1257 Ugolino, count of Coccorano submitted the Castle of Petroia. On 24 March 1384 count Antonio da Montefeltro submitted to Gubbio and became lord of the city. Gubbio ends its existence as a free town, and was annexed to the Duchy of Urbino. On 7 June 1422, the very young Elisabetta degli Accomandugi, daughter of Guidopaolo and niece of Matteo, gave birth to Federico, who later on became Duke of Urbino. Elisabetta, lady companion of Rengarda, Duchesse of Urbino, had her son from an adulterous relation with Rengarda's husband, Guidobaldo da Montefeltro. Other dates in the history:

5 September 1396 the Count Galasso da Montefeltro bought Castle and lands of Petroia.
14 April 1414 Matteo degli Accomandugi di Urbino purchased Petroia
7 June 1422, the very young Elisabetta degli Accomandugi, gave birth to Federico da Montefeltro, who later on became Duke of Urbino.
In 1458 the freehold estate was inherited from Elisabetta, and the feudal titles were given to Ugolino dei Bardi until the 3red generation.
In 1487 Guidobaldo da Montefeltro gave the castle and its land to Alessandro Reggeri of Canossa. The property stayed with this family 4 generations (after Alessandro, the son Bonifacio, the grandson Orazio, and the great grandson Camilla).
In 1617 Camilla di Canossa, who did not have children, willed the property it to the Monte di Pietà of Reggio Emilia (a charity institution).
8 of May 1629 the Monte di Pietà sold to the Ugolini family of Gubbio; the price was 6,200 scudi.
From 1823 Castle and land belonged to Benvenduti family of Gubbio.
In 1909 (the Good Friday) the Castle and all of its land were bought by David Sagrini. As of 2015, the family manages the Castle as a hotel.

Castello di Petroia

Il castello di Murlo è un insediamento fortificato sito a nord di Perugia a metà strada tra Antognolla e Migiana di Monte Tezio.
Il complesso costituisce l'evoluzione di un antico castello medievale, sorto su un precedente sito di epoca romana, del quale oggi rimane solo il mastio quadrato, dell'XI secolo, ed alcuni tratti delle spesse mura di cinta.

Antichi manoscritti [1], come anche la tradizione orale, riferiscono che “si trovavano frequentemente nei contorni di Murlo avanzi d'antichità dai quali si può congetturare che ivi fosse nei più remoti tempi qualche luogo considerabile”. Altra fonte manoscritta riporta il ritrovamento in Murlo da parte dei conti Oddi di una lapide con un'antichissima iscrizione in latino, che fu donata dalla famiglia Oddi al Monastero di San Pietro di Perugia per collocarla nel portico dello stesso tra le altre antiche iscrizioni.

L'antichità dell'insediamento trova altresì conferma nella presenza, nelle vicinanze di Murlo, sulla cima del Monte Elceto di Murlo (m. 620), dei resti di una fortificazione montana di epoca protostorica, facente parte - insieme all'insediamento sul Monte Civitelle ed a quello sul Monte Acuto – di una rete di “castellieri” protostorici aventi funzioni di guardiania e di controllo dei sottostanti fondi vallivi e stradali.

Nel 1087 il castello viene menzionato in una pergamena dell'abbazia di Santa Maria di Valdiponte, riportante, tra i testimoni di un atto di enfiteusi, un tal «Johannis de castro Murli». In seguito l'insediamento dovette perdere per qualche tempo importanza ed essere parzialmente abbandonato poiché nelle fonti successive i focolari di Murlo risultano sempre censiti insieme a quelli del vicino villaggio rurale di Somonte (villa Somontis), sviluppatosi intorno alla chiesa parrocchiale di San Savino, “a poche centinaia di metri dal castello di Murlo”.

Il castello compare nella carta di Ignazio Danti del 1577, affrescata nella Galleria delle Carte Geografiche del Vaticano.

Nel 1580 Murlo viene attaccato ed occupato dal condottiero Alfonso Piccolomini, conte di Montemarciano.

Dal XIV al XVIII secolo fu feudo della famiglia Oddi di Perugia. Sforza Oddi, celebre giureconsulto del XVI secolo, è vissuto a Murlo per lungo tempo e vi ha composto i suoi insigni trattati De Juramento e De Restitutione in Integrum, confessando egli stesso che se queste opere sono di qualche utile agli studiosi della legge e di qualche onore alla patria se ne deve tutto il merito alla solitudine della sua villa di Murlo e non allo strepitio della Città o dei Ginnasi.

Successivamente il complesso e la vastissima tenuta sono passati ai de Fonseca Pimentel ed ai Carabba Tettamanti Radziwill.

Castello di Murlo

The Castle of Antognolla, on the north slopes of Monte Tezio, owns its name to one of the most  ancient and noblest family from Perugia, the Antognolla or Antognolli, who lived in Porta Santa Susanna district since the XII Century.

The date when the Castle was built is not exactly certain; the first written notation on it date back to 1174, when the existence of a monastery dedicated to St Peter is reported, monastery of which only a crypt dedicated to St Agata remains.

A real milestone of the castle is the” bolla pontificia” (Papal Bull) of 1399 with which Pope Bonifacio IX made of the so-called county of Antognolla a real feud, giving it to Ruggero di Antognolla and his heirs, for services rendered to the Holy See.

Between the XV and XVI Centuries, the Castle saw many plots and sieges due to the struggle for supremacy of the various noble Peruginian families. In 1480, it was conquered by the Baglioni family, lords of Perugia, because of the opposition to their rule by  Niccolò Antognolla. For this very reason both Bernardino and  Ieronimo di Antognolla took part in XVI century  to the slaughter of the Baglioni. Due to this, one of them was beheaded and the other sent to exile till 1523. The Antognolla Family owned the Castle till 1605.

In 1628, the Castle and the whole county was  bought by the nobleman Cornelio Oddi from Berardino, Cesare, Nicolò and Fermo Antognolla, rendering it a holiday resort.

The Oddi owned the Castle till 1836, when it was acquired by the Marquee Giovanni Battista Guglielmi. He changed the castle considerably in order to make it a as well as a holiday place. In 1921, the Guglielmi family sold the property to the IFI society (Istituto Finanziario Industriale – Industrial and Financial Institute) of the Agnelli Family.

Recently it has been renovated and transformed into a luxury hotel.

http://turismo.comune.perugia.it

Castello di Antognolla

It is a castle on the slopes of Monte Tezio at 580 meters altitude and, as other castles in Umbria, it begins as rural open village (without enclosure). It was fortified later on with thick walls and supporting towers in order to defend the crops, the cattle and the inhabitants of the area.

During the XV Century it was named as castrum. Historical sources show that the building of the small fortress started in 1455 and that further works were made thanks to fundings from Perugia Municipality between 1473 and 1481. Anyhow the Castle was still unfinished.

Recently, after years of complete abandonment, restoration works started during the ‘80s of the XX Century. The first arch of the portico on the left was added, but the different construction phases are still easy to be seen.

The original core is at the north east corner, initially a fortified house, probably, to which later on the three annexes and the two angular towers were added. The original entrance was the one on the east side, whose door was surmounted by some brackets supporting the defence apparatus. The present door, on the west side, as well as the portico and the above loggia, was built afterwards; same time for the external windows made through a cut of the walls.

Recently the structure has been recovered and organized partly as accommodation facility, partly as private residence.

http://turismo.comune.perugia.it

Castello di Procoio o Procopio

I had visited Castello Brancaleoni many times for numerous festivals, concerts & even a fully costumed medieval dinner, but I thought it was about time for a proper tour of the castle that sits above the town where we live. With my family in tow, we weaved our way through the old part of town, over the bridge, through one of the two arched entrances of this walled city- it's medieval baby! - marvelling at the crumbling village surrounding this magnificent castle.
Straight out of a film, the bells began clanging as we approached Castle Brancaleoni, who stands proud & stoic in the shadow of Monte Nerone, for centuries watching over the tiny town of Piobbico.
The castle was built in the 13th Century and was continously occupied by the the Brancaleoni Family through the 17th Century.
For a small town deep in the country the castle is more orante than you may think - beautifully decorated with frescos & stucoes (by F. Brandani), gold leafing & over 130 rooms!

From the court of honor built in 1470 to the hall of dresses & jewllery of a noble family, antique looms & farming equipment - the castle tells the story & paints the picture of ancient life in Piobbico. My imagination goes crazy imagining this castle in its hayday!

https://latavolamarche.blogspot.com

Castello dei Brancaleoni

Castello di Reschio forms part of a chain of walled settlements in proximity of the Tuscan boundaries. It belonged to the county of Porta Sant’Angelo of the commune of Perugia, perched on a hillock above the valley of Pierle, along the right riverbank of the Niccone stream. Today it is part of the communal territory of Lisciano Niccone, province of Perugia.
Origins of Castle till mid-14th century
The name Reschio, derived from Resculum, suggests a fortification at the site dates to the late Roman Empire. The present structure was likely begun at some time between the 9th and 11th centuries. Historians from the 17th and 18th centuries (Muratori and Gamurrini respectively) refer to land grants by Charlemagne and other emperors wrote prior to the 11th centuries. These certificates, emitted for the Bourbon of Monte Santa Maria family(originally the Lords of Colle), possibly represent the first records referring to the Castle of Reschio. However, no such documentary evidence is still extant.

The first documentation of the castle is from 3rd of May, 1202, when Uguccione di Ranieri of the Vagliana branch of the Family of the Marchesi del Monte S. Maria, marchese di Colle e di Vagliana, submitted to the town of Perugia this castle and its properties along with those of Monte Gualandro, Castel Nuovo, Santa Maria di Pierle, Lisciano, and Tisciano. A treatise for protection was signed with the consuls of Perugia. The historian Litta, understands this to mean Uguccione was in possession of those sites by a grant from Federico Barbarossa, and, as the imperial power diminished, the obligation arose to keep them by vassalage treatise.

Reschio, Imperial Feud
The Emperor Charles IV, by a certificate of May 14, 1355, invests Ugolino and his nephews Angelo, Guiduccio and Pietro Marchesi del Monte Santa Maria, with the castles of Marzana, Lippiano and Reschio, confirming their privileges (Mariotti 1835). Ugolino requested this deed from the Emperor, by which all Feuds are freed from protection bonds, of which investiture was given or confirmed (amongst which the curia of Reschio is expressly mentioned). The family of the Marchesi del Monte S. Maria therefore depends directly from the Sacred Roman Empire, thus freed from the Umbrian towns, where the various factions were always in conflict with each other. The marquisate hereby became an imperial “sovereign” feud.Ranieri di Ugolino was the only member of the Bourbon del Monte family who, after the investiture by Charles IV, did not have the title of marquis of Monte S. Maria, but was the first one to take on the title marquis of Reschio, most probably his place of residence.

The Montemelini Family of Perugia
In 1364 the castle of Reschio still belonged to the Marquis of Monte S. Maria (Ranieri, the son of Ugolino di Berarda, used the title of Marquis of Reschio, likewise his son Antonio). The handing over to the Montemelini family took place in 1365 when Antonia (Ranieri’s granddaughter) inherits a part of the marquisate of Reschio (including the Castle). Antonia was married to Ranieri di Tiberio Montemelini di Perugia, but had to defend the Castle from the pitfalls of her relatives (amongst which the toughest one her cousin Cerbone, who had many relatives killed in order to be sole proprietor of the marquisate). In 1593 Montemelini Lord of Reschio put his feud under the protection of the Grand Duke of Tuscany and was condemned by the Pope for having placed the coat of arms of the Medici on the gateway of the Castle.

The bishop of Todi, Angiolo Cesi
In 1601 Count Niccolò, son of Napoleone Montemelini, sold this feud, through the Congregation of the Barons, to Mons. Angelo Cesi, bishop of Todi, who made a present of this to his nephew Venanzio Chiappino (as can be read in the inscription placed above the entrance to the Castle). The Notary Francesco Torelli drew up the sales deed in Perugia.

Prospero Cimarra
On December 5, 1678 the County of Reschio was purchased by the Duke of Acquasparta for the sum of 25000 scudi. Cimarra, contractor of the Gabella del Macinato (grain and flour taxes) of the Towns, Countryside and Castles of the District of Rome, was indebted with the Apostolic Chamber by the sum of approximately 30000 scutes and therefore forced to sell the propriety of Reschio.

The noble family Bichi Ruspoli Forteguerri di Siena
On May 27, 1692 Cardinal Carlo Bichi (May 6, 1638 – November 7, 1718; nominated cardinal by Alexander VIII in 1690), offered to purchase the County of Reschio for the sum of 23000 scutes on behalf of his nephew Marquis Galgano Bichi, of the noble family Bichi of Siena. The notary Francesco Antamoro drew up the sales deed, confirmed by Pope Innocenzo XII on October 11, on October 20, 1692.

This important family from Siena contributed decisively to the development of the community of Reschio, right up to the 1920s, when the inauguration of the first (and only) elementary school of Reschio took place, thanks to the determination of the teacher Nazareno Carnevali.

The Castle in the Twentieth Century
In 1932, after 240 years, the marquis Ridolfo Bichi Ruspoli Forteguerri sold the estate of Reschio, including a number of farmhouses still part of the propriety to this day, to Professor Angiolo Maria Cenciarini. The sale took place “per aversionem” or, as one would say today, “with closed gates” meaning including all the contents of the Castle, of the houses and farms on the estate. In the deed, drawn up by the notary Zati of Florence, one can read that the entire sum paid for the purchase corresponded to a total price of 800,000 lire. Under the Cenciarini, the property was dedicated to cultivation and processing of tobacco.


In 1970s, the property belonged to the counts of Bosca di Roveto, who renovated the castle.


In 1994, the Bolza Family (aristocratic Austro-Hungarian family of Italian origins) purchased the estate. The present owners have started a process of requalification of the entire real estate heritage, and recovery of the Castle.

Castello di Reschio

Il castello di Sorbello è situato su un'altura davanti a Reschio, nel comune di Cortona, ma non lontano da Umbertide, al confine un tempo tra il granducato di Toscana e lo Stato Pontificio. Dalla rocca prese titolo un ramo della dinastia dei Bourbon del Monte Santa Maria e fu, dal 1416 al 1815, sede dell'omonimo piccolo marchesato, feudo imperiale mediato che comprendeva anche Pereto e la val di Pierle.
Storia
È costituito da un massiccio palazzo a planimetria rettangolare con torre merlata ghibellina e rivellino, inserito in un basamento trapezoidale con forti rastremature ed accenno a bastionatura, cordolato e con guardiole ai vertici. Il maniero domina tuttora l'alto corso del Tevere ed è sempre la residenza dei marchesi Ranieri Bourbon del Monte. Alle pendici del colle, raggiunto da due sentieri, si trova il borgo agricolo di Sant'Andrea, intorno a un piazzale, con antiche costruzioni e la chiesa, il cui arciprete un tempo era nominato dai signori di Sorbello.

I marchesi, dopo che i Bourbon di Sorbello si estinsero nei Ranieri tramite il matrimonio di Giovanni Antonio con Altavilla, pronipote dell'ultimo feudatario reggente Lodovico IV (1805-1815), utilizzavano la rocca come residenza estiva, unitamente alla villa del Pischiello sulle colline del lago Trasimeno, ma soggiornavano a lungo anche nel palazzo di Perugia e nel castello di Civitella Ranieri, nei dintorni di Umbertide.

L'edificio non dispone di muri di cinta, ma di due maestosi ingressi, uno orientato a est, l'altro a ovest, collegati attraverso un'ampia corte. In mezzo a questa si erge uno scalone, illuminato da un secondo cortile, che sovrasta i locali un tempo adibiti a carcere feudale: a sud-est la fortezza è rivolta verso il sottostante castello di Reschio. La struttura è stata realizzata alle falde di un abbassamento del monte Montaccio e il primo cantiere fu installato nei primi anni dell'XI secolo, secondo quanto risulta dalla prima documentazione concernente la stipulazione di un contratto tra i marchesi e il governo di Città di Castello, avente per oggetto l'alienazione di alcuni immobili. I signori, prima della costruzione della rocca, abitavano in cima al monte e si possono ancora vedere i resti della dimora.

Il feudo dei Bourbon di Sorbello era denominato imperiale, perché concesso, nel 1416, dall'imperatore Sigismondo di Lussemburgo (1410-1437) a Lodovico I (1416-1441), appartenente a una linea collaterale dei Bourbon del Monte, marchesi del Monte Santa Maria: la sovranità su questo piccolo ma strategico territorio - 4 km² e 500 abitanti - durò fino al Congresso di Vienna. I feudatari rogavano atti pubblici, riconosciuti dagli altri governi, e amministravano la giustizia civile e penale in una sala del castello. Il marchesato dipendeva dal Sacro Romano Impero, ma, per motivi di tutela e difesa in caso di guerra, aveva sottoscritto un atto di accomandigia con il granducato di Toscana: il 24 giugno di ogni anno i Sorbello partecipavano, a Firenze, al corteo di San Giovanni Battista per l'omaggio feudale ed erano i primi nella gerarchia dei nobili titolari.

Il maniero, delimitato da un ampio giardino, risulta essere l'unico dell'odierno comune cortonese ad essere intatto e abitabile, dopo alcuni restauri che, non essendo più attuale la destinazione militare, lo convertirono in residenza signorile. Intorno ad esso si notano i ruderi di antiche fortificazioni, ma la facciata, il retro e la torre con i merli a coda di rondine sono inalterati. L'androne, la scalea, il corpo di guardia, le prigioni sono tutti particolari dal volto poliedrico che ricordano i tempi feudali. Nel piano terra la cappella di Sant'Andrea custodisce una pala d'altare dedicata all'apostolo e un graffito raffigurante la Madonna, patrona di tutti i rami dei Bourbon del Monte Santa Maria.

L'interno del monumentale edificio è stato quasi totalmente rimaneggiato nel Seicento secondo il gusto barocco, prevalente nel periodo. È caratterizzato da 365 stanze, secondo la composizione dell'anno solare: interessanti, anche per l'arredamento e le opere d'arte conservate, il piano nobile, la sala del marchese, del trono, dei busti (rappresentanti molti componenti della prolifica dinastia).

Lo stesso marchese Uguccione Ranieri parla, inoltre, dell'inquietante presenza soprannaturale di un fantasma che si manifesterebbe ogni 19 luglio, riferibile a Battistello di Sorbello, figlio legittimato di Guidone I e della favorita Rosa di Bagnolo, fatto decapitare nella sala di giustizia del castello, appunto in quel giorno del 1558, per volere dello zio Lodovico II per timore che ostacolasse la successione del proprio erede Tancredi II. Lo spettro, come in un rito, pare compia la sua annuale comparsa nella sala del trono con la testa male attaccata quasi ad angolo retto, percorra la sala dei busti e, attraverso scale non più esistenti, si soffermi nel luogo dove morì.