| | 
Profile
|
 "Il Castello del Poggiarello di Stigliano", formerly named as "Stigliano Pecci", has a substantial medieval heritage, which makes it a rare and precious example of a 13th century fortification. This ancient site, under the protection of the Tuscan Architectural Heritage Trust, still emits that magical aura of a distant and evocative past - tranquil, majestic and captivating. The village of Stigliano is situated just 10 minutes from the medieval city of Siena, and nestled above the village, within a dramatic panorama, are three period stone houses and one of the few remaining watchtowers in the Siena district, complete with merlons and an internal terrace running around inside the crenellations.
The tower and the houses all have massive walls, original oak beams and the antique furniture and interior design has been orchestrated with good sense and good taste, ensuring both comfort and pleasure. The outside may be 13th century, but the plumbing and other internal conveniences are definitely state-of-the-art, very comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. Central heating is also installed. All living areas have their own private garden, fitted out for entertainment and just relaxing to enjoy the magnificent views. Gardens and swimming pool enhance the comfort zone. |
 This is your backdrop then: a fertile plain of grain, grapes and olives, rising to the foothills of the Metallifere Range, with the river Merse running through. It was once a rich and important source of metals, but now a protected area for the abundant rare flora and fauna indigenous to the forest. On one side you have the hills which lead down to the coastal area - the Maremma - and on the other the burnt, red Siena earth of the Montagnola hills.
Local History
Stigliano itself has a fascinating history which dates back to the Etruscan era and the Poggiarello hill was actually a necropolis. In the summit of the hills, in a place called today "Sienavecchia" (Old Siena), traces of settlements have been found in archeological digs, and walled enclosures are visible, "castellieri", sort of fortified encampments. The Etruscans built these castellieri in proximity of their copper and iron ore mines. Despite of the main zone of Etruscan influence was around the distant cities of Chiusi and Volterra, there are traces which show Etruscan presence nearby, such as Grotti, Orgia, Rosia and Malignano. During the Roman era, the tombs on the hill behind Poggiarello were probably violated during the reclamation and drainage of the plains below. |
 After centuries of abandonment, during the Medieval period, the market economy permitted the population to take over the old farmlands of the original Lombards, - (in this area it was the Ardengheschi family) - situated around the castles in strategic positions on the hilltops, far from the swampy plains. During an economic expansion, the population shifted their attention to the valley to find more arable land, thereby reclaiming once more, the valley floor. The principal centres of population moved to these lower hilltops, growing rapidly and spontaneously, as happened in Siena. The old villages, instead, along with the old castles, nowadays are mere ruins, and of which only a memory remains.
During a moment of strong artisan and agricultural revival, the face of Tuscany was changed radically, giving it its present aspect, highly civilised, almost a garden-state. In this historical period, many private and public buildings were erected in the form of "tower-houses" (the forerunner of renaissance's Palazzo) in place of these old castles, demonstrating the wealth and power of local merchants and industrialists. Opposite the tower of Poggiarello there is an an example, named "La Bigattiera" from the use which, two centuries ago, was made of it converting it into a barn for the production of silk. To be noted the interesting mullioned windows. |
 Most of these medioeval buildings in following moments of crisis and political upheaval, were reused as fortifications, and proved extremely useful as defensive structures.
On the hill of Poggiarello, the Pecci family, successful merchants, constructed the nucleus of such a group of "tower houses" of varying heights, surrounded by walls, a type of fortified farm along the road which accessed both manufacturing and metallurgical industries, by the banks of the River Merse. In actual fact, very close to Stigliano, the river is still dammed up, but feeds a canal whose water fed a miriad of farms and fulling mills and others, a few of which still survive today. |
 In the 1200s, the population expanded and soon the entire hill was encircled by a chain of walls enclosing housing for artisans most probably. The surrounding area from 1260 was often invaded, sacked and looted by constant Florentine incursions. Added to this, private armies, in abundance then, rendered the area insecure, forcing the population to constantly rebuild and reconstruct, even though the Castle at Poggiarello was a veritable fortress, protected by high walls, a tall tower and substantial edifice.
The list of incursions is long: the Teutons under the Pisan Imperial army of the Emperor Arrigo VII of Luxembourg (1313); the army of Uguccione della Faggiola (1316); the Pisan Army of Ciupo degli Scolari (1332); the Florentines under Commander Ambrogiuolo Visconti in 1365; the band of Giovanni Belcotto from Brittany in 1367; Florentines on retreat from Siena in 1389, and again, the Florentines under the orders of Luigi di Capua in 1391. In 1485, the Republic of Siena decided to maintain a series of outlying forts, among those was Poggiarello. At the beginning of the 16th century the complexion of the tower was modified from a pure, utilitaristic military building, to a more sophisticated tipology, more suitable for living, with massive external stairs, but a defensive function was maintained. The job remained unfinished, and probable author was a menber of the Pecci Family itself, a dilectant architect. |
 During the War of Siena, both in 1530 and 1554, there was widespread and systematic destruction of the strongholds and fortresses throughout the Sienese countryside. At the end of this War, there is evidence that a branch of the Piccolomini family, as well as the Pecci's, was established here. Examining the ceramic, sedementary sherds used as landfill, we note a fracture between the 1500s and the Laurentian period (mid 18th century). During the Medicean era, the population slowly reconstructed the hamlet, even though it was decimated by the Plague of 1630; and the castle, losing its defensive function, was adapted to agricultural purposes. The various houses were agglomerated into a typical 1700s-style farm holding, with stables for the animals on the ground floor, and the living areas on the first.
The hamlet retains today this very aspect, as if frozen in time. Finally, at the end of the 18th century, under new planning laws promulgated by the Laurentian Grand Dukes to render Tuscan agricultural practice more efficient, the Pecci farm of Poggiarello di Stigliano was sold and split up between the neighbouring estates: the Poderina farm, the Placidi estate and the farm of Monte, De'Vecchi estate, wich later passed on to the Aldobrandinis. |
| |
|
