The Fortress, or Rocca di Radicofani, has stood above the village for over a thousand years. Built on the top of an imposing 896-meter basalt cliff, it was mentioned for the first time in 973. Since then, it has dominated the entire territory between Monte Cetona, Val d'Orcia, and Monte Amiata... The Val d’Orcia, a #UNESCO World Heritage Site, includes the historic centers and much of the territory of the municipalities of Castiglione d’Orcia, Montalcino, Pienza, Radicofani, San Quirico d’Orcia... #tuttitaly
The Fortress of Radicofani was built in the 9th century on the top of an imposing 896 m basaltic cliff. Named for the first time in 973, it has dominated the territory between Monte Cetona, Val d'Orcia, and Monte Amiata.
In 1153, the building passed into the hands of the Papal State, which, sensing its strategic position on the ancient Via Francigena, exploited its potential. Pope Adrian IV used the fortress to stop the political and military advance of Frederick I the Barbarossa.
At the end of the 15th century, Siena used the Rocca to defend its Republic; and about a century later, Cosimo I de 'Medici promoted an action to modernize the monument, entrusting the task to the architect Baldassarre Lanci.
However, the great fame of the Fortress can be traced back to Messer Ghino di Tacco, the "Gentleman Bandit," who took possession of it twice, in 1297-1298 and 1300.
In recent years, some see the Messer as a "punisher of injustices and the powerful," while others simply as a "daring bandit." It seems that his sometimes tyrannical and cruel deeds were still aimed at doing good. With this, Boccaccio and Dante Alighieri also mention the legendary figure of the Ghibelline rebel in their works.
Following a recent renovation of the Radicofani Fortress, the Museo del Cassero was inaugurated inside:
a museum that houses archaeological finds from the Etruscan age to 500 and documents that attest to the history of the fortress and its restoration in the smallest detail through photographs, models, and virtual reconstructions.
We can visit the museum by climbing the Monument's floors, then arrive at its extremity, at an altitude of 1000 m, from where the gaze is lost on the magnificent UNESCO heritage hills of the Val d'Orcia.
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