Staying in the village
they are a group of very old buildings of considerable historical value, restored with the utmost fidelity and furnished in an exemplary manner with authentic antique furniture from past centuries.
The houses that today make up the ensemble of the Ancient Residences of the Terziere were already present in the High Middle Ages when Castiglione belonged to the territories of the Este princes. After around 1202, these lands passed to the Malaspina princes, and by the early 14th century, castrum (fortified place that defended the fortilitium) composed of the integration of high and low medieval buildings and defensive walls that date back to the fifteenth century, as restored by Lorenzo de Medici, the Magnificent. The historical, broad and noble ‘panorama’ and the all-round spatial panorama make Castiglione del Terziere unique also for other wonderful cultural motivations that fill the current castle, namely the ancient fortilitium.
The Roman road, along its route along the valley floor, in the Vallescura area (where you can see the visible remains of an eighteenth-century brick factory, industrial archaeology) deviated to reach the fortified complex of Castiglione (castellum – one), and did the same, subsequently, via romea or francigenato reach a vast hospitale important hospital for the refreshment of travellers.
It towered over and dominated the castrum the fortilitium which dates back to the 8th – 9th centuries AD and which was gradually transformed in the following centuries first into a 'castle', the residence of the Imperial Vicar, the leader Castruccio Castracani, and his General Staff, and then, for centuries into palatio di ressidenti‘, sede della Rappresentanza in Lunigiana del Governo, e della Magistratura Fiorentina, prima Repubblicana e Medicea poi, in Lunigiana La storia di Castiglione del Terziere in epoca rinascimentale è infatti caratterizzata dalla numerosa presenza di Magistrati, Giudici, e Notai per il Governo Civile di quella enclave Florence, which was completely isolated and ‘disconnected’ from the capital of Tuscany.
After Castruccio, the dominion of the Castiglione del Terziere (which had assumed the attribute of the ‘terziere’ in 1275) was the first exclusive marquis of the imperial fiefdom Franceschino Malaspina, a branch of the Spino fiorito, called ‘the Soldier’, who held positions of notable political importance, such as Captain of War of the Florentine Republic, Viscount of Luni, Podestà of Milan. In the 16th century, the Medici Condottiero Giovanni Segalara was born in Castiglione del Terziere, who distinguished himself victoriously in numerous battles.
Today, and for 40 years now, the Castle of Castiglione del Terziere has been the seat of the Center for Humanistic Studies ‘Niccolò V‘ (the great pope born in Lunigiana) equipped with an important library of national history, humanistic material, Italian literature, freely open to thousands of scholars and students every year. The scent of a pregnant culture is felt in the air, and the Ancient Residences of the Terziere They are essential for welcoming scholars, writers, artists, and other people who desire silence and inner peace.
Residence of the "Rooster"
Spread over one floor, 3 beds, 1 double bedroom, 1 living room with single bed, 1 kitchen, 1 bathroom, external square
Residence of the "Lily"
Spread over one floor, 3 beds, 1 double bedroom, 1 living room with kitchenette, 1 sofa bed, 1 bathroom
It is an ancient building so called because from the fifteenth century, and for over three centuries, it constituted the lodgings of the Florentine garrison, and the lily, as is known, is the symbol of Florence. The house is leaning against the boundary wall of the upper village, a very ancient wall, restored in the second half of the fifteenth century by order of Lorenzo de’ Medici.
Next to the house is the fifteenth-century gate to the village. The current windows of the building were originally slits, which were enlarged in the seventeenth century to give more light to the rooms.
The house is on two floors, and is composed of four rooms, two per floor, a bathroom with shower on both the ground floor and the first floor. The ceilings of the two rooms on the ground floor are vaulted, and from one of the two rooms you can access a large loggia (formerly the merchants' loggia), paved with large slabs of pietra serena, covered by a pergola of vines, where it is possible, and beautiful, to stay, have lunch, and dine outdoors. One of the two rooms is used as a kitchen, and the other, as a bedroom and living room, together. The two rooms are communicating, but each has its own entrance door. In ancient times, under the Florentine domination, these two rooms constituted the headquarters of the Guard Corps.
The ceilings of the two rooms on the first floor (or village floor) are wooden attics. The two rooms are accessed from the village floor, next to the Medici door. The restoration work, recently carried out with the aim of making the rooms of this small but very important house welcoming, was carried out with absolute respect for the architectural reality of the fifteenth century.
The floors have been restored with 15th-century bricks recovered from adjacent houses that were now in ruins. The wooden ceilings and vaulted ceilings are also original from the 15th century. The 16th-century fireplace, made of pietra serena, is decorated with sculpted lilies, and the same flower is found in the ancient terracottas walled up against the attic of the bedroom. The lily is a recurring motif in the furnishings of the house, even in the embroidery of the curtains at the windows.
Elegant and discreet, the house is furnished with antiques: the small sideboard, the coffee table and the chairs in the living room, the ‘goats’ of the double bed and the small seventeenth-century wardrobe with four doors, in the bedroom. From the bedroom you can access a wardrobe, and the toilet (with shower). In the living room, a comfortable sofa bed can serve as an emergency in case you need a comfortable extra bed.
The old prints hanging on the walls are original and represent places or views of Lunigiana. There is also an old engraving depicting a crucified Christ painted on wood, a seventeenth-century manuscript table of coin exchanges, the portrait of the poet Giovanni Fantoni, the portrait of Leopold II, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany.
The Casa del Giglio breathes the cultural environment of the castle, and is an integral part of it as a guesthouse for Italian and foreign scholars, and for tourists interested in the centuries-old culture of Lunigiana. In the castle there are a series of commented exhibitions of ancient books, thanks to the possibilities offered by the important library, people talk about history, art, poetry, and above all how not to lose, or how to recover, the sense of identity, and belonging.
During the summer months, it is possible that travelling or pilgrim companies, in love with poetry, theatre and music, camp out in the Loggia dei Mercanti to give shows, recite poetry, make various types of music and tell tales.
Residence of the "Santina"
Spread over two floors, it sleeps 6, 1 double bedroom, 1 bedroom with two single beds, 1 living room with two single beds, 1 bathroom, 1 kitchen.
If, from the second half of the fifteenth century to the second half of the eighteenth century, we had walked through the Borgo of Castiglione del Terziere, in the stretch from the Medici Gate heading south, nestled between the Residences of the Lily and the Rooster and the Residence of Simonino, we would have observed a building with a loggia that overlooked a short section of the Borgo and a small square in front. The building at the level of the Borgo consisted of two warehouses, with twin doors, used for the storage and distribution of grain in the Florentine territory of the Captaincy of Justice of Castiglione del Terziere.
The distribution of grain respected the number of ‘mouths’ (i.e. inhabitants) of the various castles, fortresses, ‘lands’, and ‘villas’ that made up the vast jurisdictional territory.
The building then took the name of Residence of Santina del Simonino". Romantic notes shine through between the lines of certain ancient writings, where Fiordispina is mentioned, stabbed at night in an ambush set for her by a rejected suitor in the darkness under the vault of the Medici gate.
The house was modified following the earthquake of 1920, and renovated in the early 1960s. Very recently, work has been carried out that has brought back to light part of the original fifteenth-century façade, and the furnishings have been made with high-quality furniture from the early twentieth century. A joyful elegance permeates the entire house. The house consists of two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. All in excellent condition.
– On the ground floor there is a living room (which can be used as a bedroom if necessary), and a very bright and elegant kitchen.
– Upstairs is a large, open space where a period piece of furniture serves as a wardrobe, a bedroom with two twin beds, with comfortable and high-quality bedside tables, and a delightful reading nook. On the walls hang oil paintings by a great Florentine milliner, and many drawings of original ladies’ dress patterns from the 1960s.
The ‘memory’ of the great milliner is enriched by some photographs of famous actresses wearing hat models made in Florence in the Sixties by the GI.Gi of Florence company, the most famous atelier of ladies’ hats, and some hats made and in perfect condition, the work of the great ‘miller’ Giulio Ponsecchi.
The documentary ‘presence’ of Ponsecchi’s work is motivated by the predilection that the Maestro had felt for the cultural activities of Castiglione del Terziere. In front of the house there is a small square for exclusive use set on three sides by houses restored with exceptional fidelity and composure.
The "Guardhouse"
Distributed on one floor, 2 beds, 1 bedroom with two beds, 1 bathroom, kitchen with access to the external loggia.
The "Guardhouse" to guard good fortune.
The ground floor apartment, or the loggia, consists of a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. The rooms have vaulted ceilings.
From the two rooms you can access a large loggia (merchant's loggia), covered by a large pergola, where it is possible, and beautiful, to stay, have lunch, and dine outdoors.
Residence of the "Simonino"
Spread over three floors, 8 beds, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 dining room and two living rooms, 2 terraces, external loggia. Historic building in excellent condition has three entrances, two representative and one service.
First entrance: It is located on the upper floor of the village. It is a large room, furnished with an ancient and extraordinary 'guard bench' (which in past centuries was located in the guardhouse of the Florentine garrison in Castiglione del Terziere), and with a splendid polychrome wooden statue of San Leonardo, Patron Saint of the town. The floor, in Tuscan terracotta, is original from the sixteenth century.
The wooden ceiling is original from the 16th century. A window as large as the entire wall, in iron and glass, opens the view onto the underlying ‘Loggia dei Mercanti’, where in ancient times prices were set and the purchase of wheat, corn, etc. for the whole of the Lunigiana Granducale Fiorentina was negotiated. The loggia is available to Residence of the "Simonino"
Living room: From the first entrance you enter a living room, equipped with a 16th century pietra serena fireplace, and a covered loggia. From the living room you enter two bedrooms. The first has a 16th century vaulted ceiling, and is furnished with a queen-size bed, the work of a skilled 16th century cabinetmaker, with a delightful 17th century painted wardrobe, and with two original engravings by Stefano Della Bella, depicting battle scenes, and an ancient polychrome wooden statuette of village workmanship, resting on an ancient wooden shelf. A small window looks out onto the upper village. The second has a view of the valley, private bathroom, furniture (double bed, and wardrobe) from the 18th century. Other useful objects.
Upper level: this is accessed by a wooden staircase from the living room. It consists of two bedrooms, and a large living room-study. The first is furnished with a very beautiful sixteenth-century queen-size bed, an antique small table serves as a bedside table, a seventeenth-century kneeling chair, and a fireplace with a wooden architrave. The second has two beds, a wardrobe, and a view of the village. A bathroom with shower shared by the two bedrooms. Loggia with spectacular view, very high on the road below.
Residence of the "Bargello"
Spread over two floors.
Village floor: entrance, two large rooms furnished with antique furniture and original paintings of remarkable effect. Kitchen, delightful dining room. Comfortable flight of stairs for access to the upper floor
Upper floor: two elegantly furnished double bedrooms, one bedroom with two single beds, two bathrooms, one with a bathtub and the other with a shower.
Porcellotti Palace or the Bargello of Lunigiana
The foundations of the building date back to the fifteenth century and some stone structures inside the house confirm this. The house, called ‘Porcellotti Palace’, belonged to an illustrious family of jurists, notaries and religious men.
Among the jurists remembered in the sixteenth century are Pier Maria - in the seventeenth century Antonio Maria and Flaminio di Pier Maria (who represents the Marquis of Groppoli at the Grand Ducal Court of Justice of Castiglione del Terziere) Pedro Maria di Antonio Porcellotti and Francesco di Stefano Porcellotti together with Camillo di Baldassare Turriani in 1588 were "...elected deputies by word of mouth by the men and University of the said Municipality [of Castiglione del Terziere]" to make the "...additions, corrections, limitations and Chapters..." to the ancient Statutes of Castiglione del Terziere..."
Among the notaries we remember – in the seventeenth century Carlo, Lazzaro, Gio. Battista ‘Florentine public notaries’, and Carlo Antonio, Vicar of Terrarossa.
Among the religious, we remember – at the end of the fifteenth century the Rector of the Church of San Leonardo in Castiglione del Terziere, who “…In the year 1502 he too saw tears coming out of an image of the Virgin Mary…”, a picture and devotion that gave rise to the Convent of the Servite Fathers of Florence in Castiglione del Terziere – in the seventeenth century Monsignor Stefano, Prior of San Michele Arcangelo in Arezzo, and Monsignor Francesco, who succeeded his uncle in the same Priory.
Over the centuries, the Porcellotti family formed marital alliances with other wealthy families: the Turriani from Castiglione del Terziere, descendants of the Turriani princes of Milan – the Mazzini from Compione, who later settled in Castiglione del Terziere in the building that since the early sixteenth century constituted the Convent of the Servite Fathers of Florence – the Cortesini from Bagnone – the Salvatori from Caprio – the Righini from Pontremoli – the Cressia from Filetto, and others.
Since 1618 the Florentine Government, with the aim of facilitating “…that the servants and servants of the Bargello [of Castiglione del Terziere] can stay and live in these parts…” had ordered that a house be found “…in this land for their habitation…”, and so the Porcellotti palace was “rented” by Antonio Maria Porcellotti to the Government to make it the seat of the Bargello.
Carlo Porcellotti and Camillo Turriani ‘pleaded’ with the Tuscan Government in Florence the ‘opinion’ taken by the Consul and the Representatives of the Community of Castiglione del Terziere, on 18 August 1687, to “…establish a School Master … required to teach their children the Virtues, good conduct…”
In the late 19th century, the building was used as the rectory of the church of S. Leonardo.
