The Castello di Decima is a fortified building in Rome (Italy), in the frazione Castel di Decima. It is a structure closed by four arms, with a crenellated entrance accompanied by a tower. In the center, there is an internal courtyard with a circular fountain. Inside the castle rises the small church of Sant'Andrea apostolo in Castel di Decima.
On a hill to the south east, the excavations conducted since 1971 have found a vast necropolis of the 8th–7th century BC, attributable to an urban center identified as Politorium or Tellena, then probably fortified a second time by the Romans as part of the defensive system that surrounded the city in 4th century BC.[1]
The fortified complex of the former castle included the casale of Perna (with an ancient tower), the mill of Malpasso and the tower of Decima.[2] When the defensive need ceased, the early medieval fortifications were generally transformed into farmhouses (casali) during the Renaissance.
Tower or casale of Perna
The construction of the tower dates back to the 11th century, but its existence is attested only from the beginning of the 16th century,[3] when the documents mention it as a "castle". The transformation in its present form dates back to this period, when the original height was probably reduced and buttresses were added. The first floor of the interior is supported by cross vaults. Near the former entrance door, which opened on the first floor, fragments of medieval decoration are walled up.
The tower or castle was owned by the Muti family (documents dated 1512 and 1518). In 1560 the archbishop of Amalfi Massimo Massimi sold it to the cardinal Federico Cesi and in 1660 it was owned by Pompeo Colonna, prince of Gallicano. In 1704 it belonged to the Conti family and in 1711 to the Colonna family. In 1734 it was sold to the Torrigiani family, who joined it to the estate of the castle of Decima, together which the neighboring estates of Fossola, Morrone, Pernuzza, Pinzarone and Campobufalaro, for a total area of almost 2,500 hectares.[4]
Near the tower rises a chapel, already existing in the 17th century, showing a simple façade with angular pilasters and tuff doorposts.
On 2 July 1977 the estate, which became a municipal property and was left uncultivated, was occupied: a farm was created, which is still active today with the name of Cooperative Agricoltura nuova.
The Castello Sforzesco is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later renovated and enlarged, in the 16th and 17th centuries it was one of the largest citadels in Europe. Extensively rebuilt by Luca Beltrami in 1891–1905, it now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.
Castel del Monte is a 13th-century citadel and castle situated on a hill in Andria in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It was built during the 1240s by King Frederick II, who had inherited the lands from his mother Constance of Sicily. In the 18th century, the castle's interior marbles and remaining furnishings were removed. It has neither a moat nor a drawbridge and some considered it never to have been intended as a defensive fortress; however, archaeological work has suggested that it originally had a curtain wall. Described by the Enciclopedia Italiana as "the most fascinating castle built by Frederick II", the site is protected as a World Heritage Site. It also appears on the Italian version of the one cent Euro coin.
Antoniazzo Romano, born Antonio di Benedetto Aquilo degli Aquili was an Italian Early Renaissance painter, the leading figure of the Roman school during the latter part of the 15th century. He "made a speciality of repainting or interpreting older images, or generating new cult images with an archaic flavor", in particular by very often using the gold ground style, which was unusual by this period.
The Torre delle Milizie is a fortified tower in Rome, Italy, located between Trajan's Market in the Imperial fora to the southwest and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, or Angelicum, to the east.
Pacentro is a comune of 1,279 inhabitants of the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy. It is a well-preserved historic medieval village located in central Italy, several kilometers from the City of Sulmona about 170 kilometres (110 mi) east of Rome. Pacentro has been nominated as one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia".
Castel dell'Ovo is a seafront castle in Naples, located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the Gulf of Naples in Italy. The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman poet Virgil, who had a reputation in the Middle Ages as a great sorcerer and predictor of the future. In the legend, Virgil put a magical egg into the foundations to support the fortifications. It remains there along with his bones, and had this egg been broken, the castle would have been destroyed and a series of disastrous events for Naples would have followed. The castle is located between the districts of San Ferdinando and Chiaia, facing Mergellina across the sea.
Torrechiara Castle is a 15th-century castle near Langhirano, in the province of Parma, northern Italy. It sits atop a terraced hill south of the city of Parma, in a strategic position overlooking the Parma (river) in the valley below.Castello di Torrechiara The castle was commissioned by Pier Maria II de' Rossi, the fourth count of San Secondo, and built between 1448 and 1460. The fortress shows the influence of the Sforza-Visconti castles. In 1894, it was described as "the two walls, the curtains planted on an exact square, and the four towers draw together like a cyclopean pyramid very pleasing to the eye and, in fact, very elegant" by archaeologist and art historian Corrado Ricci. The castle has been managed by the Polo Museale dell'Emilia Romagna since 2015.
The Castello di Milazzo is a castle and citadel in Milazzo, Sicily. It is located on the summit of a hill overlooking the town, on a site first fortified in the Neolithic era. The Greeks modified it into an acropolis, and it was later enlarged into a castrum by the Romans and Byzantines. The Normans built a castle, which was further modified and enlarged during the Medieval and Early Modern periods. It is now in good condition, and open to the public.
Castello Orsini-Odescalchi is a castle in Bracciano, Lazio, Italy. It is located on the southern shore of Lake Bracciano. It was built in the 15th century, and combines the functions of a military defence structure and a civilian residence of the feudal lords of the period, the Orsini and Borgia, both papal families. As one of the largest and best-maintained castles in Italy, it also houses a museum; as a centre of cultural events, the Castello has hosted several high-profile weddings like the ones of Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes, Eros Ramazzotti/Michelle Hunziker, and Petra Ecclestone/James Stunt.
Gorizia Castle is an Italian fortification, dating to the 11th century, built on the hill which dominates the city of Gorizia, Italy, from which it takes its name. The medieval House of Gorizia was named after the castle.
Camillo Camilliani was an Italian architect, military engineer and sculptor. He is mostly known for the design of watchtowers and other fortifications around the coasts of Sicily.
The Castle of Fossa is a Middle Ages castle in Fossa, province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, southern Italy.
Rocca Orsini is a Middle Ages castle in Scurcola Marsicana, Province of L'Aquila (Abruzzo).
The Castle of the Pico is a castle in the city center of Mirandola, in the province of Modena, Italy.
The zones of Rome are toponymic subdivisions within the area of the Ager Romanus, belonging to the Municipalities of Rome and Fiumicino, Italy.
The Visconti Castle of Legnano is a mediaeval castle, located south of the city of Legnano, Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. It lies on a small island formed by the Olona river. Since the 13th century, it is also known as the castle of San Giorgio.
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