"Castello di Montecchio Vesponi"
Built at a crucial crossroads between the cities of Arezzo and Cortona, the 'Castle of Montecchio Vesponi' still dominates the Chio and Chiana valleys, being visible from kilometres away with its mighty walls and very high watchtower.
Founded during the 11th century, this castle played a crucial role in the battles that, over the centuries following its construction, witnessed the city of Florence expand its domination over the surrounding areas. In fact, its strategic position granted it a fundamental importance for the control of this part of Tuscany, making its conquest essential for anyone who had ambitions in this region.
It is one of Tuscany's best-preserved medieval castles, and every time I travel between Florence and Cortona, I am lucky enough to see it in all its majestic, ancient glory.
During one of the few times of the year when this castle could be visited, neither I nor my girlfriend could pass up the opportunity to have a closer look at it and experience the thrill of being on the 'right side' of the walls - which in the event of a siege would probably be the 'wrong side'! 😂
The castle walls are very well preserved, although some sections have sadly been exported over the centuries, and used as a source of rock and materials for the construction of other buildings.
The watchtower is definitely the castle's distinguishing feature: the view from up there must be truly exceptional! Too bad it is not possible to go up there....
Within the walls once stood a village, inhabited by several hundred people, whose houses took up almost all the available space.
Today, hardly anything remains of these dwellings, although various excavation and restoration works have unearthed some of them, bringing to light vases, utensils, water channels and other small objects that allow us to reconstruct a bit of what life must have been like inside this fortress.
Access to these rooms happens through stairs that descend below ground level, as everything has been covered by layers of soil and debris over the centuries.
Among the few structures that have survived the flow of time we find what was once the parish priest's house, now used as the residence of the owner of the castle.
The entire structure is in fact a private property, although subject to a whole series of public duties and restrictions aimed at its preservation.
Inside, you can breathe an almost magical and timeless atmosphere: thanks to the good state of preservation, you can easily try to visualise the guards patrolling the walls, or the merchants entering through the fortified gate, or the sentries scanning the horizon for any threat!
Visiting it was very nice, also due to the fact that included in the ticket price was a guide - one of the archaeologists working on the excavations, which are still in progress - who enriched the exploration of the castle with a lot of interesting and useful information to help retrace the history of this ancient fortress.
Photos made by me or my girlfriend.
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