Porciano Castle
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Porciano, the Casentino with Romena and Poppi Castle is on
its back. On the other photo the castle viewed from above. |
The Porciano Castle dominates a hill far about a kilometer from the river Arno
and at the same distance from Stia. Stia is reachable with the SS.70 Umbro-Casentinese
following the indications.
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The Keep with a line of the survived curtain walls. |
The historical memories about Porciano goes back to the 11th century, the castle
is named on a year's 1017 document as residence of the Count Guido di Teudegrimo,
founder of the branch of the counts Guidi from Porciano, so we can consider
it as one of the first settlements of the powerful Casentinese family. More
than two centuries after, in the year 1288, was the famous Count Tegrimo
that, here retired after the Campaldino battle, attacked and stole the unlucky
wayfarers and merchants that passed in the proximity's of the castle. Of his
'noble art' exists testimony in a 1291 sentence against the Count: he
have to pay 10.000 gold florins to the Podesta (medieval term for chief magistrate
or governor) of Florence to have stolen at a merchant of Ancona. The successor
of Tegrimo was the Count Guido Alberto of Porciano, also condemned by the Florentine
Republic to have plotted in a conspiracy to upset the same one. In March 20th
1349 the castle passed under the dominion of Florence, having the last Count
of Porciano, Ludovico, suit the monk's abit abandoning all his terrestrial richness.
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The greatest surviving keep in the whole Casentino.
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As to many other places of this area also on Porciano exist a lot of memories,
even if you don't historically proved, regarding the great poet Dante Alighieri.
The legend says that in year 1311 Dante was brought for the first time
in Porciano to convince the Counts of the Guidi family, that opposed for a long
time the Florentine Guelphs, to support the just crowned Emperor Arrigo
VII and to convince him to take openly side with the Ghibelline cause. From
Porciano departed two famous letters written by the poet. The first one, March
31st 1311, destined to the Florentine, full of resentment and hate after the
exile to which he was condemned, with the purpose to invite them to submit to
the emperor. The second, the 16th April of the same year, to the emperor to
push him to crush with the weapons the same Florence. But the Counts Guidi didn't
keep the promises of fidelity done to the Emperor, and the poet immortalized
his contempt for the traitors in the XIV° chant of the Purgatory of the 'Divine
Comedy'. This caused the revenge of the Guidi family that imprisoned the Alighieri
in one of the halls of Porciano. Another legend that concerns the castle is
related to the presence between its walls of a treasure, a gold bell that 'it
is worth how much the whole Casentino'.
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The western tower. |
The mighty Keep of Porciano, still gifted of battlement, is the greatest of
the whole Casentino with its 35 meters and six plans of height. It is raised
between the rests of the fortified walled enclosure, two towers, the western
transformed in bell tower of the church of the little town and two gates, one
to north and another to south. The downfall of the castle began in the 16th
century in contemporary with the growth of the town of Stia, placed at the bottom
of the valley, much more comfortable for the commerce. The ruins of the fortification
also knew the shame to be destined to agricultural use. As the near castle of
Romena, also Porciano became in the 19th century ownership
of the Counts of the Goretti dè Flamini family that took care of its restoration.
On the site were also done archaeological researches that have allowed to reconstruct
the phases of development of the castle. It's now possible to see the complex
system of canalization of the waters that were served to flow from the roof
of the keep to the principal cistern sited in the court of the castle and in
a small misure inside the same tower for drinkable use. After the last works,
finished in 1978, the ruins results well kept and today have been opened to
the public, the tower also entertains an apartment, residence of the owners,
and a small museum of the things recovered in the area.
Looking today at this castle of small dimensions can seem impossible that in
the Middle Age its importance was so notable. The 'court' of Porciano was frequented
by knights, noble and ambassadors, the deriving merchants from the east had
to pass under the walls of this castle to approach towards Florence and an Emperor
confided in its alliance to subdue the powerful Florentine Dominion.
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The best preserved side of the walls with the north gate. |
The south gate. |
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