How to reach
Poppi with its magnificent castle, rises on a hill, on the right bank of the river Arno, for those who come from Florence, in the center of the Casentino valley. The castle can be reached following the SS70 Umbro-Casentinese, leaving it at the height of Ponte a Poppi and driving up to the top of the hill where the castle rise.
History
The castle of Poppi is the most important medieval monument in the whole Casentino area. Unlike all the other castles and architectures of the zone, it wasn't wasted by time or ruined by the men, having always been used as the residence of the local political or administrative power; in fact, it is still today the seat of the Commune of Poppi. Since its origins, the history of the castle has been strongly tied to that of the biggest feudal family of the Casentino, which made Poppi the center of their great fief and lived in this castle for almost four hundred years: the counts of the Guidi family.
Despite the fact that the first written notices of the existence of the castle are dated 1191, its architecture lets us suppose that the foundation was the antecedent of two or three centuries, dating back to the period between the invasions of Italy by the Longbeards and the French.
The original nucleus of the castle is constituted by the high square tower that still dominates the rest of the construction and the underlying valley. Today's aspect is not the original one; in fact, in the last century, the tower was partially reconstructed, principally during the restoration following the damages suffered when it was hit by a great lightning. The tower was higher and gifted with machicoulis (projection from the wall made of stone that has openings through which the defenders can fire upon an enemy directly below); the legend says it was taken for model by the Master Mason Arnolfo di Cambio for the construction of the one of 'Palazzo Vecchio' in Florence, which is still intact today. About three or four meters of the base are currently buried, which covers the scarped wall of the tower. The openings in the masonry seem to be original. After the tower a walled enclosure was built all around it, from which were then developed the other buildings of the fortification.
The complex was endowed with only two gates: the main, with a steep ramp of access, on the side towards the valley and the suburb of Ponte a Poppi (Poppi's ancient market place on the river Arno), and the other on the opposite side toward the square of the town. After the last big restructuring of the castle in 1470, this last became the principal access with the name of 'Lion Gate'.
The castle was widened with the construction of a rectangular block placed on the right of the tower (looking from the town square). This was the primitive keep, used respectively from the lowest to the highest floors for jail, deposit, and residence. Today it is united at the tower by a curtain wall, but originally the two constructions were detached, connected only by a drawbridge at the highest floor, to be independent and eventually each at the defense of the other in case of attack. In the hall of the residential level of the keep was signed in 1440 the act of surrender of the last of the counts Guidi, Francesco, to the Florentine Republic.
Almost contemporaneously, the construction of the other wing of the castle on the opposite side of the tower began. This was built only up to the first floor when the keep was finished, but that was enough for the creation of the inside courtyard that we can still admire today, rich of coats of arms in stone of the Florentine families that developed the Vicariate at the castle. On the side toward Ponte a Poppi, the courtyard is closed by the Chapel. The majority of these works are assigned to the count Simone Guidi, who was responsible for the great first reconstruction, initiated in 1274, that raised the original small fortress to the rank of feudal residence. To increase the elegance of the castle, he also opened some mullioned windows on its facade.
Another big intervention has been brought forward since 1470. This is principally the inside courtyard, with the construction of a splendid staircase in stone for access according to the plans of the building. The ditch of separation between the castle and the square of the town was excavated, and on the outer walls was erected the 'Munizione Tower' at the defense of the 'Lion Gate'. The 'Munizione' was endowed with a drawbridge and today disappeared. The castle was by now a splendid residential building. The works of the last century, with the remaking of a large part of the battlements and the restoration of the mullioned windows and other parts of the masonry, have given it the splendid today's aspect.
More info & notes
Official FB page: https://www.facebook.com/castellodipoppi.paginaufficiale/
Conti Guidi Castle
Piazza della Repubblica, 1
52014 - Poppi . Arezzo . Italy
Ph. +39.0575.520516
e-mail: info@castellopoppi.it
Opening hours
from 7 January to 14 March > Friday-Sunday 10:00-18:00
15 March to 31 March > daily 10:00-18:00
1 April to 30 September > Monday-Thursday 10:00-19:00 / Friday-Sunday and holidays 10:00-20:00
1 October to 1 November > daily 10:00-18:00
2 November to 23 December > Friday-Sunday 10:00-18:00
24 December to 6 January > daily 10:00-18:00
Tickets
€ 7 full
€ 5 concessions under 18 / over 70 / families and groups min. 20 people
Free > children up to 6 years old / disabled / residents