5/5 Kammal Ashraf G. 2 years ago on Google • 171 reviews
The
origins
The
village
still
retains
the
characteristic
appearance
of
the
fortified
village,
with
an
oval
plan,
typical
of
hill
towns. Located
on
an
isolated
hill,
located
at
the
point
where
the
valley
of the
Marina
stream opens
towards
the
Florentine
plain,
it
is
visible
from
the
four
cardinal
points
and
in
the
past
guarded
the
communication
routes
that
led
to Mugello . The
first fortification of
the
Calenzano
hill
is
most
likely
due
to
the
powerful
family
of
the Guidi
counts . The
original
nucleus
of
the
castle
assumed
considerable
strategic
importance
in
the
twelfth
century,
located
as
it
was
on
the
border
between
two
dioceses, that
of
Florence and Pistoia(Prato
will
become
so
only
in
1653)
and
the
feudal
domains
of
the
aforementioned
Guidi,
of
the Alberti counts ,
who
controlled
the Val
di
Bisenzio ,
and
of
the Ubaldini ,
Ghibelline
lords
of
Mugello. The
first
mentions
of
Calenzano
as
a
"castle"
date
back
to
the
13th
century. We
find
traces
of
it
in
the Book
of
Montaperti of
1260 and
in
the Book
of
Estimates of
1269. In
this
second
source
in
particular
we
describe
the
damage
suffered
by
the
Guelphs
of
Florence
after
the
defeat
in
the
battle
of
Montaperti
by
the
Ghibellines,
which
also
caused
massive
destruction
to
the
castle
of
Calenzano.
From
the
Guidi
the
castle
passed
under
the
jurisdiction
of
the
bishop
of
Florence
and
finally
at
the
beginning
of
the
14th
century
it
became
a
possession
of
the
Republic
of
Florence. It
is
interesting
to
note
that
three
other
castles
were
located
along
the Val
di
Marina :
that
of
Combiate,
at
the Passo
delle
Croci ,
of
which
no
trace
remains,
defended
the
access
to
the
plain
from
the
north; that
of
Legri ,
formerly
owned
by
the
Guidi
counts
then
by
the Figiovanni and
the
Cattani-Cavalcanti,
restored
in
recent
years
in
neo-Gothic
style
is
now
a
private
residence; and
the castle
of
Travalle,
also
an
ancient
fief
of
the
Guidi. The
property
of
the
latter,
divided
between
the
Tosinghi
and
the
Lamberti,
was
purchased
by
the
Municipality
of
Florence
in
1225.
It
then
passed
to
the
ancient
Corbinelli
family,
and
remained
with
them
throughout
the
1600s. Since
then,
the
"castellaccio"
of
Travalle,
as
it
is
called,
has
been
one
of
the
farms
of
the
large
villa
farm
first
of
the
Strozzi
Alamanni,
then
of
the
Ganucci
Cancellieri. The
castles
were
joined
by
numerous
watchtowers
in
the
control
of
the
territory,
such
as
the
tower
of
Collina
and
the
“Torraccia”
or
the
tower
of
Baroncoli.
The
14th
century:
three
sieges
in
less
than
forty
years
The
most
important
historical
fact
concerning
the
castle
occurred
on
the
night
between
4
and
5
October
1325,
when
the
Ghibelline
militias
of
the
Lucca
leader Castruccio
Castracani ,
veterans
from
the
victorious battle
of
Altopascio ,
attacked
and
set
fire
to
the
fortifications
without
encountering
resistance
during
their
advance.
about
Florence. In
that
century
of
continuous
wars
that
was
the
'300,
Calenzano
again
suffered
serious
devastation. In
1351
it
was
besieged
and
damaged
by
the
troops
of
the
Visconti
of
Milan
led
by Giovanni
di
Oleggio. At
that
point
the
Florentine
Republic,
aware
that
it
could
not
give
up
a
stronghold
which
was
the
real
gateway
to
the
Florentine
plain
from
the
west,
decided
to
take
action. The
defensive
structures
were
consolidated
and
enlarged,
making
the
walls
assume
the
conformation
that
will
keep
for
the
centuries
to
come. These
expensive
works
proved
effective
when
in
1363
the
Pisans,
flanked
by
the
English
mercenaries
of Giovanni
Acuto ,
raged
through
the
countryside
of
Florence,
plundering
and
plundering. The
castle
walls
resisted
and
also
provided
shelter
to
the
inhabitants
of
nearby
Sesto.In
that
same
year
the
Municipality
of
Florence
approved
a
further
strengthening
of
the
defense
works
and
decreed
the
absolute
prohibition
for
the
inhabitants,
under
penalty
of
a
fine
of
1000
pounds
of
small
florins,
to
build
or
live
in
houses
or
huts
leaning
against
the
castle
walls
or
in
a
perimeter
of
200
fathoms
around
them.
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