Castles, towers and fortresses

The famous seaside resort of Castiglione della Pescaia is dominated above all by an imposing medieval castle which encloses the historic center of the town with its walls. The castle of Castiglione della Pescaia was built around a tower built by the Pisans in the 10th century to which, later, sections of the wall were added which join it to ...

The Castle of Triana is located about 6 km from Roccalbegna in the direction of Monte Amiata. In the past this castle was also called with the names of Triana di Santa Fiora or Atriana. The castle is located at an altitude of 767 m above a rocky knoll to the west of the mountainous buttress which from Monte Labbro ...

The Saline fort is located at the mouth of the Albegna river near the Porto Santo Stefano-Giannella dell’Aurelia exit, at the exit you take the direction of Porto Santo Stefano (Monte Argentario), after a few meters, before the bridge you turn right onto a dirt road which shortly leads to the fort, which is already visible from the main road. ...

Located along the coast of the Maremma Natural Park, the Tower of Castel Marino is 102 meters high on the top of a hill from which there is a wide view towards the sea and the mouth of the Ombrone. Until the eighteenth century the sea must have lapped the base of the hill where the tower is located, while ...

The hill of Poggio Imperiale is an area of about 12 hectares located west of the modern city of Poggibonsi. This is an area of high archaeological interest. In this place, between 1155 and 1270, was the site of the first urban nucleus of “Podium Bonizi”. Here, in 1155, Guido Guerra, of the Guidi Counts, built a new city in ...

The small semi-abandoned village of Linari is located in a beautiful position on a hillock 225 meters above sea level overlooking the river Elsa. It is a small fortified village of which some interesting medieval evidence remains. The first historical evidence of this castle dates back to the 11th century. Linari had importance since its foundation due to its strategic ...

The Forte delle Rocchette stands on the sea a few km north of Castiglione della Pescaia, to reach it take the road to Follonica, pass Riva del Sole and Roccamare, immediately after the crossroads for the latter location take the road to the left for Rocchette, a few more kilometers and you reach the beach located under the castle from ...

The Castle of Pogni, known in the past with the name of Pogna, was one of the most important advanced fortifications of the city of Semifonte in the Val d’Elsa. Semifonte was the most important castle of the feudal family of the Counts Alberti. This castle was the last imperial fortification to be defeated by the municipality of Florence in ...

Located along the road that connects Tavarnelle Val di Pesa to Castellina in Chianti and just 6 km from the splendid Badia a Passignano, San Donato in Poggio is located 418 meters above sea level immersed in the typical Chianti countryside made up of hills with olive groves and vineyards. San Donato in Poggio is a walled village of ancient ...

The small village of Tignano, located on a hill facing the medieval village of Barberino Val d’Elsa, is a small castle dating back to the Middle Ages. According to some studies it seems that its existence has been established since the year one thousand. Of its ancient structures, the circular medieval plan is recognizable. Inside the small village you enter ...

Vetulonia is today a small medieval village located a few kilometers from Castiglione della Pescaia. This small center of the Maremma, in Etruscan times, was one of the most important cities of Etruria. Located in the valley of the Bruna River in the immediate vicinity of what in the Etruscan era was Lake Prile. Vetulonia became an important Etruscan center ...

Punta Ala is a seaside holiday resort located in the municipality of Castiglione della Pescaia along the road that connects Castiglione della Pescaia to Follonica. This worldly center of the Maremma coast rises along a wooded promontory located between the Forte delle Rocchette and the port of Punta Ala. Along the promontory there was the border between the Grand Duchy ...

Pari is a very suggestive small village located between Siena and Grosseto, practically on the border between the two provinces which is marked here by the Farma river valley, a tributary of the Merse. Sometimes, due to its position, the village is also referred to as the place where the Maremma begins, although more often the real Maremma starts from ...

The Medici Fortress of Siena was built starting from 1560 by order of the future Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I de’ Medici. This fortress is located in the heart of Siena, and was built where the old Spanish fortress was destroyed by the Sienese in 1552. The fortress was designed by Baldassarre Lanci and its construction was completed in ...

Montecchio Vesponi is located about 4 km south of Castiglion Fiorentino on the road (n ° 71) which goes towards Cortona. The castle, very beautiful and evocative, is placed on a hill, at a height of 364 meters above sea level, which dominates the whole plain below. Passing along the road you cannot do without to be attracted to this ...

From a distance the structure that characterizes the village of Poppi is undoubtedly the Castle of the Counts Guidi (or Praetorian Palace), which, with its massive structure dominates the town on the hilltop, but the town is very beautiful even for its porches. Poppi’s history dates back to the twelfth century when it became the main residence of the Counts ...

Monteriggioni is a picturesque medieval village completely encircled from circular walls with 14 towers, situated on a low hill, approximately 10 km from Siena. Until 11th century, Monteriggioni was a station of exchange along the via Francigena. Siena transformed Monteriggioni in an imposing fortress in order protect its northern border during the wars against Florence. A FORTRESS ON THE NORTHERN BORDER ...