In the Renaissance, the great Sienese architect Baldassarre Peruzzi gave it its present form: a mighty military fortress and a luminous noble palace... #tuttitaly
On the hills of Alta Sabina stands Rocca Sinibalda, 552 m high, between the green of the woods and the valley where the Turano River flows.
The history of this imposing castle that dominates the hill on which it lies begins in 1084, the year in which it is mentioned for the first time in a deed of donation in favor of the abbot of Farfa. Its construction aims to protect the Rocchigiana population from enemy attacks.
The initial structure of the fortress was very different from what we can observe today. In the first half of the 16th century, Pope Clement VII entrusted Cardinal Alessandro Cesarini with providing for the castle's maintenance. The latter thought of intervening in the fortress's structure to transform it into a stately home. He then asked the Sienese architect Baldassarre Peruzzi to draw up the plans for the renovation. The works began in 1532 and were by other artists after the architect's death.
These had to partially modify the original project because the rock on which the fortress rested did not allow it to move freely and to respect Peruzzi's design, so they had to adapt the project to the orography of the hill.
The fortress assumed an austere appearance externally, with an eagle-shaped plant and two towers with protruding male and scarp walls. Internally, it was an elegant Renaissance residence with frescoed apartments and halls.
The paintings had their central theme taken from Ovid's metamorphoses.
The castle was reopened to the public in 2014 after a lengthy restoration. The halls, the underground courtyards, and the gardens welcome visitors all year round. In some of the more than 100 rooms, there are collections of African masks and totems, which, together with the sixteenth-century frescoes, develop the theme of metamorphosis.
The Castle hides a 7 m deep snowfield to guarantee snow and ice to the castellans for the summer months; a swimming pool, also used in the 1960s by Peggy Guggenheim and the Living Theater, and a small amphitheater.
The external path offers the opportunity to walk around the Castle's perimeter, enjoying the Turano Valley's wonderful panorama.
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