Brolio Castle
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| The ancient keep and the baronial building
closed between the mighty ramparts. |
The castle of Brolio is situated in the center of the area of Chianti that belongs to
the province of Siena. It can be reached easily from Siena following the
indications for Castelnuovo Berardenga or from the exit ' A1 Valdarno' following the
statal road (SS) 408.
Click here to see a Map of the castle.
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| The Keep, core of the medieval castle. |
The castle of Brolio has a Longobard
origin, although today nothing, except the location, of the ancient original
small fortress remain. Its role in the history began to be remarkable
from the beginning of the 12th century, when the powerful feudal family of the
Ricasoli from Cacchiano took office on it, and still today the castle belongs
to their descendants. Its position was always strategical for the control of
this area of Chianti, edge of the Florentine influence at the borders with the
Senese territory. For this reason, since the 13th up to the mid 16th century,
the castle was often interested in the frontier wars. We are in fact in the
heart of the Florentine territory of the 'Chianti League' - formed by the 'terzieri'
(terzieris) of Radda, Castellina and Gaiole - rich of feudal presence and strongly
contended between the two big cities of Florence and Siena. All the castles
of the zone, either Florentine that Senese, were aside always strengthened,
so much that two real contrasting defensive lines were created.
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| The Baronial Building. |
The castle was always in the hands of Florence, to the
exception of a temporary Senese occupation after the second Aragonese
invasion of the Chianti in 1472. Consequently at this event,
from 1484 when the castle returned Florentine, began a great work of restructuring
and expansion of the fortification to adeguate the walls at the new fire
weapons, so we can consider Brolio one of the first 'Italian bastioned
fortresses'. Its ramparts, in stone and still today in perfect state,
have an irregular pentagonal plan with a primitive structure if comparated
with the development that this new form of fortification had in the following
years. It is not certain, but it seems that the architect responsible
of the work was been Giuliano da Sangallo, that will sharpen his fortificatory
art to the service of the Medici. This bastioned walls enclose the rests
of the original medieval castle, above all the Keep and the Roman Chapel,
over that a neo-gothic building was build to the place of the preexisting
one from the Baron Bettino Ricasoli, 1809-1880, famous political
man of last century, known also as the 'Iron Baron'. The castle rises
to the center of boundless vineyards, from which since 1141 the Ricasoli
distilled their famous wine, place to grow old in the cellars inside the
mighty walls of the fortress. The castle is private property but
it is visible with the exception of the baronial building by a fee. Is
still possible to complete the turn of the ramparts, from which we can
have a splendid sights on the Chianti region.
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| Another view of the powerful ramparts. |
The main entrance to the castle. |
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