Since the 11th century the area of southern Tuscany around the castle of Piancastagnaio was the object of the expansionist politics of the powerful feudal family of the Aldobrandeschi.

The whole territory is rich in historical remains tied to these potentates. Between the possessions of the Aldobrandeschi, Piancastagnaio was almost always the site of allotted to the noble family from the monks of the Abbey of S.Salvatore since the beginning of the year 1000. Subsequently it was claimed from the Viscounts of Campiglia and during the 13th century it became object of ulterior disputes between the cities of Siena and Orvieto.
The Orvietani gained control of the powerful fortress in the 1303 and maintained it for around fifty years. At this point they entered in the quarrel with the heirs of the Aldobrandeschi, the Orsini of Pitigliano, to oppose the new aims of the Senese Republic. Only between the years 1415 and 1430 Siena finally succeeded to taking possession of Piancastagnaio, that was attached to the Capitanato of Radicofani. In 17th century the settlement became a Granducal fief and finally, with the Leopoldine reforms, the chief town of the the same community.

The country town has a circular form, once had surrounding wall enclosure with alternating square towers and four gates. The walls and the gates have been almost entirely demolished, with the exception of few lines, three towers, two with semicircular shape and the other squared, the main city Gate beside the Rocca and other three minor Gates in the southern front of the walls: 'Porta Romana', 'Porticciola' e 'Porta di Voltaia'.
In the highest point of the inhabited area rises still today the mighty Rocca Aldobrandesca.

The construction has a square form and is endowed with tall and strongly inclined walls. From the enclosure rises two towers , the greatest, either as thickest, had functions of keep, the other, in the opposite angle, defended the underlying gate of access to the city.

The whole complex was endowed with machicoulis and battlement, still today almost intact. The Rocca is under good condition thanks to careful work of restoration.

https://www.castellitoscani.com

 The Aldobrandeschi (Piancastagnaio)

Account

by category

Login

Name

by region

Title

Name in English

The castle was named for the first time in 833 A.D. on a document of the San Salvatore Abbey but the reports brought to light during the recent excavations, started in 1997, revealed no traces antecedent to the 11th century. At that time the monks of San Salvatore Abbey began to vindicate the possession of Selvena accusing the Aldobrandeschi to have taken it illegally. The feudal family won the quarrel, but in the following centuries the fortress continued to be object of desire, suffered seriously damage under the siege of Fredrick Barbarossa at the mid-13th century and subsequently was again disputed between the powerful towns of Siena and Grosseto. Only at the mid-14th century Siena took control on this territory, but only for few years. Selvena became first part of the fief of Pitigliano, controlled by the Orsini family, and then of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.

The fortress’ ruins dominate the landscape. Today is still easy to recognize the traces of its trapezoidal shaped double walled enclosure: the external walls encircled the inhabited area and the inner the feudal palace. To the eastern extremity of the inner walls, just over the main gate, rises a splendid tower with a pentagonal form that played the function of keep. This tower was added to the fortress to increase the defences immediately after the Barbarossa's siege. The quality of the construction is still today clear, it was built with fine worked stones of the highest quality and testifies the wealth of the castle's owners. This side of the fortification is also the only one not defended by the natural precipices of the rocks and the walls have here their vertex creating a barbican at defence of the entrance.

http://www.monte-amiata.eu

Rocca Silvana (Castell'Azzara)

The first certain documentation of the existance of the settlement of Arcidosso is from the year 860 where it is said to belong to the Abbey of San Salvatore. The construction of the first nucleus of the castle, around which the town will develop, is from about the year 1000. From the 12th to the 14th century it was a stronghold of the Aldobrandeschi counts and became an important military fortress, bulwark against invasion by Siena in the Amiata territory.
In 1331, Guidoriccio da Fogliano, seiged it for four months using an army of 4000 soldiers and 400 horsemen, achieving its surrender. After the fall of the Senese Republic, in 1556 it passed under the Medici rule. Cosimo I established many outlying offices here, making it become an important center. Following the Reformation Leopoldina of 1786, the redistributed the state and ecclesiastic lands, Arcidosso passed under the rule of the Lorena. This generated a conspicuous demographic increment and the number of its citizens quadrupled in about 100 years. Arcidosso therefore became historically the most important political and administrative center of Monte Amiata.
The historic center of Arcidosso, one of the most striking of Amiata, develops in a long pyramid shape along the plateau dominated by the Aldobrandesca Fortress. The actual aspect of the fortress is the result of various extensions added to the original Longobard constructio(n from the 11th century, and is made up of an imposing building divide in two parts (one lower than the other), with a square section that rests upon, along a large part of the perimeter, a large foundation, the exterior walls are covered in "filaretto".
The north side of the complex is characterized by the presence of a tower that rises beyond the roof of the highest building in the compound. The top of the tower is crowned by a series of blind arches resting on shelves, the make up the base of the battlements below. The fortress, recently restored, is used today as a space for cultural activities. From the top of the tower there is a splendid panorama of Mount Amiata.

Only three gates of the original medieval walls remain, of which two are original – the Porta di Castello and the Porta Talassese towards the sea. From here, going down towards Codaccio, one finds the Porta dell’Orologio, built in 1851 to replace the Porta di Mezzo.

Rocca Aldobrandesca

Il castello di Triana è situato nell'omonima frazione a est di Roccalbegna, che sorse come antico insediamento rurale nel primo Medioevo.
Storia e descrizione
Il luogo è ricordato fin dal 760, ma l'esistenza del castello è attestata solo dalla divisione dei beni degli Aldobrandeschi del 1216, quando fu assegnato al ramo di Santa Fiora. Nel 1388 la Triana fu acquistata dalla famiglia senese dei Piccolomini che lo fecero divenire sede di una signoria rurale nel corso del Cinquecento.

I Piccolomini rimasero proprietari del castello e dei terreni circostanti fino al 1962, quando il castello, notevolmente trasformato e con scarsi resti delle forme originarie, è stato lasciato alla Società di esecutori di pie disposizioni di Siena. L'antico castello medievale è racchiuso all'interno di una cinta muraria con un'unica porta d'accesso: il complesso comprende anche un torrione che costituiva la residenza signorile e due fabbricati disposti intorno ad un cortile.

Castello di Triana

Castell'Ottieri is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Sorano, province of Grosseto, in the tuff area of southern Maremma. At the time of the 2001 census its population amounted to 195.

Castell'Ottieri is about 90 km from Grosseto and 10 km from Sorano, and it is situated along the Provincial Road which links Sorano to Castell'Azzara. Ancient capital of the small County of Ottieri, Castell'Ottieri is now a pittoresque Renaissance village.

The Rocca degli Ottieri

Castello di Potentino History
The Castle of the Potentino is located outside Seggiano. The castle was built around the year one thousand as an ancient possession of the bishops of Chiusi, whose diocese extended, at the time, to the whole area of ​​Mount Amiata. In the eleventh century there is the attestation that belonged to the Visconti di Campiglia. In the thirteenth century it came under Sienese control and belonged to the Bonsignori, Tolomei, Salimbeni and Bindi families. Later, its importance as a boundary fortress was declined, it was transformed into an elegant holiday resort and it was bought first by the Mignenellis and then by the Venturi family. Enrico Venturi, by testamentary disposition, donated it to the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena.

In 1600 it was bought by the Marquis Giovanni Battista Bourbon Del Monte who kept it for centuries and only in 1906 sold it to the Swiss citizen Hemmeler. Today the complex is the heirs of the British writer Graham Greene who turned it into a renowned farm.

The castle of the Potentino still presents its original medieval appearance, occupying two distinct areas; the first, more external, includes the various annexed rural buildings and leads to the second, more internal area, which is accessed through an arched door that opens up along a curtain wall with summit blackbirds.

The main area consists of the castle properly called L-shaped around a courtyard. The building, unlike the remaining complex, is in Renaissance style following the interventions made by the Sienese between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with the architraved access door surmounted by a noble coat of arms; on the roof there is a small bell gable. Beyond the main area there is a third well-defined area where there stood an Italian garden, now completely resized and modified.

At the castellano settlement, there is the noble chapel dedicated to Sant'Antonio da Padova. Today, the estate has been revitalized and is dedicated to the production of wine, grappa and oil thanks to the 4 hectare vineyard and a suggestive olive grove.

https://www.histouring.com

Castello di Potentino

Il Cassero Senese, comunemente noto come la Roccaccia, è la principale fortificazione presente a Montelaterone, nel comune di Arcidosso.
La fortificazione fu costruita dai Senesi nel XIII secolo, integrandola nel preesistente sistema difensivo fino all'epoca costituito unicamente dalle preesistenti mura di Montelaterone, caratterizzate da una doppia cinta muraria.

Il complesso rivestì notevole importanza fino alla sua permanenza nel territorio della Repubblica di Siena. Una volta inglobato nel Granducato di Toscana alla metà del XVI secolo, il cassero non fu più ritenuto strategico dai Medici ed andò così incontro ad un lunghissimo ed inesorabile declino.

Nei secoli successivi, gran parte della cinta muraria, di cui il cassero era parte integrante, fu inglobata da altri edifici; soltanto negli ultimi anni del XX secolo, alcuni interventi di restauro hanno permesso di salvaguardare i ruderi dell'antico Cassero Senese.

Cassero Senese (Montelaterone)

Your first glimpse of the Rocca Aldobrandesca in Roccalbegna will take your breath away. Have you beseeching the driver of your car - if that isn't you - to stop so that you can take a photograph. And fill you with excited anticipation of exploring it and its colourful town below.

Whilst nearly every medieval castle, tower, or fortress I have reconnoitered in Maremma - and there are a lot - is strategically positioned overlooking the local terrain, la Rocca Aldobrandesca in Roccalbegna is different.


 
Not because it wasn't built on the highest point; it so obviously was. But because the "sasso" on which it is built and from which it takes it's local name of "Il Sasso" or La Pietra" (both meaning stone in Italian), only had room for the fortress and nothing else. Two, tight levels of nothing else of irregular in shape, following as it had to, the topography of its rock.

It is what children's nursery rhymes and story books are made of. For whoever first sang the children's nursery rhyme,

"I'm the king of the castle.
And you're the dirty rascal."

must have been sat looking at "La Rocca" when they did so.
A stunning location and a stunning view from its ramparts, but only for those few who lived within its walls. The rest lived down below, within the walled town for which it kept look out.

Rocca Aldobrandesca in Roccalbegna

Impossible to miss, the Masso Leopoldino rises far above Sovana‘s skyline, watching over the town like a hawk.

Built in the 18th century, the fortress with commissioned by the powerful Duke Leopold of Lorraine in an attempt to make the city impregnable.

And with its neck-straining tall stone wall and powerful square bastion, it’s fair to say he succeeded.

Peering over the side of the building that sits on the cliff face is a bit frightening. It’s a sheer drop down metres and metres to the valley floor, and 18th century architects didn’t really think about tourist safety.

If you’ve got kids, keep them away from the edge. If you don’t and you’re not scared of heights, then this an incredible vantage point to take in the town and the valley below.

Astute observers with very ,very good eye sight might just be able to make out the ancient ‘grotte’ – caves used by the Etruscans to store food and livestock. They jut out of the cliffs that surround the town like Swiss cheese!

On the other side of the observation terrace is a very old, but still functioning clock tower. It was built at the same time as the fortress and embraces the same militaristic style.

When Duke Leopold commissioned the fortress, he designed one entry point, the Porta dei Merli, which still stands today. An ancient arch, it’s carved out of travertine rock and crowned by two coats of arms, the first belonging to Cosimo II de’Medici, while the other is that of Niccolò IV Orsini.

What I find so interesting about the Masso Leopoldino is that is sits almost parallel to the Fortezza Orsini on the other side of town. Sovana and its picturesque streets are squeezed between the two imposing buildings like a precious treasure in much need of protection.

And indeed, Sovana is beautiful enough to warrant such protection.

https://maremma-tuscany.com

Masso Leopoldino

Fortezza Orsini
If you can only visit one thing in Sorano, visit this fortress. It is, after all, one of most detailed and complete examples of Italian Renaissance military architecture in all of Italy.

Designed by Sienese architect Anton Maria Lari in 1552, it’s an imposing structure made up of two hulking bastions and an impressive central building. You can see it from every corner of Sorano!

You enter this incredible building from the south, through a traventine arch crowned by an inscription and a marble coat of arms belonging to Niccolò IV Orsini – the father of Sorano himself. Keep an eye out for the heraldic bear – the symbol of the Orsini Counts.

Both bastions have recesses for firing on enemies and are connected to series of complicated pipes that made sure the town had an almost unending supply of water.

If you walk into the courtyard, and you should, you’ll find the oldest part of the fortress.

The interiors of this section have been recently renovated and many of the rooms are covered in 16th century frescoes.

Painted by the Sienese School, most of them are still beautifully intact and are dominated by the floral designs favoured by the Orsini, although a few also depict mythological scenes such as La Morte di Didone (The Death of Dido).

The Fortezza Orsini is open to tourists, but you need to be accompanied by a guide.

That’s not really such a negative, as the guides know more than the history of the building and its architecture terms, they also know all about the gossip that plagued the Orsini rule in Sorano. They were a scandalous bunch.

https://maremma-tuscany.com

Fortezza Orsini

History
The ancient Castello di Spedaletto rises in the heart of the Val d'Orcia, a UNESCO world heritage site, along the road from Pienza to Bagno Vignoni. In the Middle Ages the area was of particular importance, as it was linked to the Via Franchigena, the main communication route that crossed Europe for its entire length.

The construction of Spedaletto Castle was commissioned by Ugolino da Rocchione as a fortified welcome place for the thousands of travelers and pilgrims going to Rome: since 1263 the complex was managed by the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala of Siena and among its guests boasted famous people such as Charles II of Anjou and Pope Pius II who also issued a bull in favor of the church of Spedaletto.

The castle has a square plan with towers at each corner and appears to protrude with stone corbels and crenellation along the entire perimeter, a splendid fortified access gate with a powerful keep in its defense. The remakes of the late fifteenth century are evident, such as the slight slippage of most of the wall circuit and the loopholes for firearms in several places. In the first courtyard we find immediately left of the door the Gothic church of the hospital with a splendid facade enriched by a rose window and a sestiacuto portal, on the right a second access door, embellished with stone crests, leads into a second courtyard, heart of the fortification, from which you access the keep and the walkway.

During the fifteenth century restoration work was carried out that modified the original medieval appearance, giving it the features of a "gancia" (fortified farm), while it dates back to the nineteenth century the addition of a building with warehouse functions.

Restructured in full respect of its centuries-old origins, it now hosts a farmhouse which is flanked by the mill with millstones where the organic cereals of the estate are processed and from which the "pici", a typical dish from Val d'Orcia, are produced. bread and other types of pasta available to guests.

The tourist service includes two apartments and double rooms with bathroom, furnished with antiques typical of the Sienese countryside. The accommodations are located in the old barn and have TV with satellite channels, Wi-Fi and a fan. Every day begins with a breakfast of sweets, cold meats, hot drinks and homemade products.

https://www.histouring.com