Castel di Pietra

Medieval Castles in Maremma

Castel di Pietra was built on a strategic high point in the southern metalliferous hills of Maremma Grossetana to guarantee the control of mining activities and the production of lead, silver, iron and vitriol in the surrounding area. Dominating the valley of the River Bruna it is, however, for the story of its one time occupants, the Pannocchieschi family, for which it is renowned and with which forever entwined.

The great KAP (Kite Aerial Photography) photographs above and at the bottom of this page were taken by Opaxir. Visit his Flickr photostream for a wonderful aerial archeological tour of Maremma and wider Tuscany and see things that you will never know were there if you pass by on foot or in the car.

A brief History of the Castle

The first occupation of the hill was in prehistoric times, with a small settling in a cave opening along the slope on which the castle now sits.

Pre-medieval buildings on the summit of the hill started in the Hellenistic Etruscan age (II-III centuries), with Etruscan re-occupation in the VI-VII centuries.

La Rocca di Pietra (the fort of stone) XI-XII centuries

Documentary mention of the castle began in 1067, when it was known as the "Rocca di Pietra" and listed amongst the properties of the Abbazia di Sestinga - the Abbey of Sestinga of Castiglione della Pescaia, under the control of the Bishop of Roselle.

The Castel di Pietra (the castle of stone) XII-XIII centuries

Then, importantly, during the first years of the XII Century, the fortification ceased to be refered to as a "rocca" - fort - and assumed the status of castle under the ownership and occupancy of the Aldobrandeschi family.

In 1203 the inhabitants of castle prevented the safe transit of salt that did not originate from the warehouses of the Aldobrancheschi family or Siena - a pact between Ildebrandini VII of the Aldobrandeschi family and the city of Siena. In 1307 the Comune of Massa Marittima intalled a Lord and four soldiers at Castel di Pietra with a precise charge to control the communication route between the hills and the plain of Grosseto.

From the middle of the XIII century, the control of the castle passed from the Aldobrandeschi family to their vassals and arch rivals the Pannocchieschi family. Despite submitting control of the castle and its lands to the city of Siena in 1263, the Pannocchieschi family exercised considerable autonomy and rule until the beginnings of the XIV century.

Castel di Pietra: War and ruin - XIV century

Successive and increasingly aggressive political and military campaigns between the Comunes of Massa Marittima and Siena to include the castle within their rule led to a significant diminishment of the power of the Pannocchieschi family and, in 1328 after the death of the head of the family, Nello d'Inghiramo Pannocchieschi, the castle fell under the rule of the Comune of Massa Marittima.

In the second half of the XIV century and concurrent with the claim to the castle by the Sienese families of Tolomei and Malavolti, Castel di Pietra went into decline and was progressively abandoned. Completely so from 1413.

Highly recommended websites for more information

Excavations that commenced in 1997, led by the University of Siena, have revealed much more information such as the existence of a complex urban system from the year 1200, and unearthed many household ceramics, 338 coins from Pisa, Siena, Lucca, Arezzo, Massa Marittima and Florence, metal working tools, and archaic maiolica enameled Rennaisance ceramics from Siena, Pisa and Volterra. For details of the excavation and more photographs of the castle, visit the website of MediArg Medieval Archeology Grosseto.

For a drawing of what the castle would have looked like at its height of use visit the website of Portale di Archeologia Medievale Dipartimento di Archeologia e Storia della Arti Area di Archeologia Medievale. Click on the red link beneath the sketch to enlarge the image. The navigation menu on the left of that page will also take you to pages rich with information about the castles history from the very first Etruscan civilisation established there.

NOTE: Both websites are, naturally, in written Italian, but if you enter the website address into the Yahoo Babel fish translation service, although not perfect, the transalations are sufficiently good enough to allow you to have access to the superb information these sites contain.

The story of Nello dei Pannocchieschi
e Pia de Tolomei

Legend has it that it was in Castel di Pietra that Nello d'Inghiramo Pannocchieschi ordered the execution of his wife Pia di Tolomei on the basis that she had been adulterous and in order that he could marry his mistress the Margherita Aldobrandeschi Contessa of Sovana and Pitigliano.

Pia di Tolomei was a daughter of the powerful Tolomei of Siena family, members of the oldest nobility of Siena. And Nello dei Pannocchieschi was Lord of the Castle, and at different times Chief Magistrate of Volterra and Lucca, and Captain of the Tuscan "Taglia Guelfa".

The Pre-Raphaelite painting of Pia de Tolomei by Dante-Gabriel Rossetti

Despite protesting her innocence, Pia was imprisoned in the castle and then murdered by being thrown from a window. After the assasination, the hill upon which the castle sits became known as " Il salto della Contessa" - the Jump of the Contessa. Other stories tell of Pia being poisoned. Nello subsequently married Margherita Aldobrandeschi.

Thrown or poisoned, adulterous or not, the story of Pia became a legend and was sufficiently evocative to have captured the attention of both the Italian poet of the middle ages Dante Alighieri and the Pre-Raphaelite painter Rossetti.

Pia is immortalised in Dante Alighieri’s poem the Divine Comedy as a tragic figure he encounters in Purgatory (Purgatorio V, 130-136):

"Deh, quando tu sarai tornato al mondo,
e riposato de la lunga via,
seguitò 'l terzo spirito al secondo,

Ricorditi di me, che son la Pia;
Siena mi fé, disfecemi Maremma:
salsi colui che 'nnanellata pria
disposando m'avea con la sua gemma"

And in English:

Ah, when you have returned to the world,
and rested from the long journey,
followed the third spirit after the second,

remember me, the one who is Pia;
Siena made me, Maremma undid me:
he knows it, the one who first encircled
my finger with his jewel, when he married me."

The "Salta della Contessa" Festival

Each August the town of Gavorrano holds a costumed medieval festival called the "Salto della Contessa" in remembrance of Pia's tragic death.

Read more about the legend of Pia de Tolomei.

Location

Well this is a good question! I spent the best part of a hot August morning last year looking for Castel di Pietra following the directions on another website to no avail. Whilst seeking a very late lunch in a restaurant in Guincarico, the owner upon hearing my tale of woe kindly offered to take me there. I will take him up on his offer soon, but in the meantime these are the directions from another site and a Google Map of where others have placed it!

From Ribolla take the road to Gavorrano. After about 8 kms, immediately after a junction with a road to the left, take a right turn for Massa Marittima. On the left you will see an unmade road marked "divieto di accesso" - no entry permitted - with parking places, signs for the castle and the start of a footpath that will take you there.

View a larger map