Archive for 'Castles & Palaces'

The city of Naples is not always celebrated for its beauty and, yet, is still home to plenty of lovely historic buildings, bustling and lively neighbourhoods, and all of it looking out onto the stunning clear blue ocean. It is also home to four castles, dotted around the city.

The baby among them is Castel Sant'Elmo, a star-shaped military fortress perched atop Vomero Hill, with the San Martino Chartherouse just below, and both dominating the Naples skyline as a striking pair. A unique example of 16th century military architecture, it replaced an earlier 14th century fortress with something a little more unusual and special.

Commissioned by Viceroy Don Pedro Alvarez de Toledo, the castle was built according to the plans of Pedro Luis Escriva, a military engineer from Valencia. Escriva was one of the period's most noted and celebrated military architects and designed a strong and compact fortress that, from 1604, was a prison for political prisoners.

In the 14th century, Ferrara was not the town that one would want to live in. A series of incidents including flooding and the raising of taxes to incredibly high levels left the local people in very dire straits indeed and the descended upon the palace of the d'Este family in search of answers and help. Extreme violence ensued and, Tommaso da Tortona, a high official was literally torn apart by the crowds.

This incident gave the ruling family, the d'Este family, pause to think that, perhaps, their home provided insufficient safety and a new structure was built. A new defensive fortress was built on the north side of the Palazzo under architect Bartolino da Novara.

Pre-existing city walls and structures were strengthened and added to and a passageway was added between Este residence and the new fortress, to allow for escape.

Italy is known as a world-class leader in art and design. Many movements and styles were born or mastered in Italy over the century. The Renaissance, in particular, forever changed art and architecture in the western world. However, for all of the architectural gems that exist in Italy, there are also some rather bizarre buildings. These might, equally, be beautiful but are definitely odd.

One of the strangest architectural ventures in Italy is the Rocchetta Mattei, a magnificent castle located in the northern part of the Tosco-Emiliano Apennines, in the province of Bologna. It is an exceptionally eccentric building that speaks to its former owner, a similarly strange character. The earl Cesare Mattei, who had the castle built in the 19th century, was the inventor of "electrohomeopathy," a medical practice said to cure cancer. His methods have been largely debunked but he showed his eccentricity in his personal life and tastes as well, as can be seen throughout the castle.

The Rocchetta Mattei is a magnificent castle that emerges as an extraordinary sight, soaring up from the northern part of the Tosco-Emiliano Apennines, in the comune of Grizzana Morandi in the province of Bologna. It is a rather eccentric building that speaks to its former owner, a similarly strange character. The earl Cesare Mattei, who had the castle built in the 19th century, was the inventor of "electrohomeopathy," a medical practice said to cure cancer. It was a method that combined the use of herbs with electric bio-energy from plants and homeopathy to harness the “life energy” (electricity) of plants to heal all illnesses. He even studied biology, anatomy, physiology, pathology and botany in order to found the medical movement. While it is still used in some parts of the world today, it was largely debunked. Other elements of the earl's lifestyle make it even more apparent that he was an eccentric, including the fact that he had a room built specifically for celebrations for his 90th birthday (which, sadly, never came) and that his home was like a real Medieval court with even a court jester.

Some buildings are so incredibly beautiful and fantastical that they don't seem to be real and Sammezzano Castle definitely fits into that category. The castle, known for its outlandish moorish inspired architecture, is a bit of a hidden gem located in Tuscany in Reggello, just a twenty minute journey from Florence. The reason it is a lesser-known architectural treasure is that it is not normally open to the public and its future is rather uncertain. Despite being abandoned for decades, however, it remains a stunning testament to the wonders that sometimes arose from the eccentricity and quirky personalities of nobles.

The gardens can still be visited, the outside admired and you can sometimes see the interior but there is a rather long waiting list. Still, if you have found a luxury villa in Florence and want to get out of the city, it is worth popping out to the castle, even if you can only gawk at the impressive (but slightly less jaw-droppingly beautiful) facade.