Rocca Silvana

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Rocca Silvana Castle
Panorama of the Rocca Silvana

The Rocca Silvana Castle , also known as Rocca Selvena or Roccaccia Selvena , is a fortification in Castell'Azzara .

location

The Rocca Silvana is located 2 km southwest below and near Selvena , a district of Castell'Azzara, Province of Grosseto , Region Tuscany in Italy . The castle is located at 573 m about 3 km east of the river Fiora and on the mountain Monte Civitella (1107 m) south of the Monte Amiata . The Fosso della Canala flows in the valley directly below the Rocca .

history

The place was first mentioned in writing in the documents of the monastery of San Salvatore di Monte Amiata from the year 883 under the name Silbina . The place belonged to the monastery until around 1080, after which the Aldobrandeschi family took over the castle. From the 12th century, a significant increase in population began, which was triggered by economic prosperity. At that time, the place was important for mining as cinnabarite was extracted here . The mines of the Miniera del Morone were located directly to the west under the fortress at 500 m. The Rocca was also mentioned in writing on October 22, 1208 in the will of Ildebrandino VIII (degli Aldobrandeschi), in which he bequeathed the castle to his wife Adalasia, and in 1216 when the family branch split and the Rocca Silvana fell to the Guglielmo branch . The Orvietans are documented as rulers from 1223, but after a short time the place fell back to the Aldobrandeschi. In the 13th century the castle was besieged several times (1233, from June 1240 to June 1241 under the general Pandolfo di Fasanella and 1250) by Frederick II , but could not be captured. After the division of the family branches in 1274, the castle fell to the family branch of the Aldobrandeschi from Santa Fiora , who now used the place from one of the family's headquarters and expanded it. The Aldobrandeschi held the place until 1339, but then had to submit to the Republic of Siena under Iacobo and Pietro (del fu Bonifazio) Aldobrandeschi . This submission was confirmed five years later by the 97 inhabitants of the village by oath. From 1348 the Orsini ruled , from 1417 the place belonged to the County of Pitigliano . Further conflicts over the place were triggered by the Baschi from Baschi or Montemerano and the Orsini from the branch of Sovana . After Cecilia Aldobrandeschi's marriage to Bosio Sforza in 1439, the village became their property. The castle played a last important role in the conflict between Siena and Florence , with the latter winning and incorporating the place into the Duchy of Tuscany . In the 17th century, Silvana lost its military role when the facilities were converted into civilian houses. Today the castle is one of the few uninhabited structures of the Aldobrandeschi.

construction

The ruins of the old Pieve Chiesa di San Nicola di Bari

The castle consisted of two curtain walls , the outside protecting the inhabited houses and the inside protecting the palazzo feudale . The fortification had two towers, the pentagonal tower (east tower) serving as a cassero . The towers were built in the late 11th or early 12th centuries and were likely connected by a wall. The east tower was expanded considerably after the attack by Pandolfo di Fasanella in 1241.

In the second half of the 12th century a building was built whose dimensions correspond to those of the later Palazzo degli Aldobrandeschi . The fortification wall that separated the castle from the inhabited suburbs dates from the same period. The castle itself was significantly redesigned by the branch from Santa Fiora after the Aldobrandeschi branches split up in 1274. The one-story building was transformed and expanded into the Palazzo dei Aldobrandeschi and the (only) city gate was built. The fortified suburbs ( Borghi ) Borgo Ovest (Westort) and Borgo Est (Ostort) emerged from the beginning of the 13th century, with the Borgo Ovest first and later the Borgo Est. and reached their maximum extent at the beginning of the 14th century

The place also had a church that was consecrated to Nicholas of Bari ( Chiesa di San Nicola di Bari ) and was or is in Borgho Est . It was created in 1238 at the will of Countess Tomasia (Tommasa Aldobrandeschi) and was Pieve until the 15th century. The new Pieve ( Chiesa di San Nicola da Tolentino ) was inaugurated in 1838 in Selvena. Only fragments of the wall that are visible today are left of the historic Pieve.

literature

  • Ippolito Corridori / Arturo Santioli: L'Amiata. Edizioni Cantagalli, Siena 1987.
  • Roberto Farinelli / Riccardo Francovich : Rocca Silvana , in: Guida alla Maremma medievale. Itinerari di archeologia nella provincia di Grosseto, pp. 75-84, Nuova Immagine Editrice, Siena 2000, ISBN 978-88-7145-170-1
  • Giuseppe Guerrini / Amministrazione Provinciale di Grosseto: Torri e Castelli della provincia di Grosseto. Nuova Immagine Edizioni, Siena 1999, ISBN 88-7145-154-6 .
  • Felicia Rotundo / Bruno Santi: Castell'Azzara. In: Bruno Santi: Guida Storico-Artistica alla Maremma. Nuova Immagine Edizioni, Siena 1995, ISBN 88-7145-093-0 .

Web links

Commons : Rocca Silvana  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Castelli Toscani
  2. ↑ Roccaccia di Selvena at I Luoghi della ricerca, Uni Siena
  3. ↑ a b Regolamento urbanistico  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the municipality of Castell'Azzara, accessed on June 3, 2013 (Italian, pdf)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.comune.castellazzara.gr.it  
  4. ↑ a b c d e Felicia Rotundo / Bruno Santi
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Roberto Farinelli / Riccardo Francovich
  6. ↑ a b Roccaccia di Selvena at I Luoghi della ricerca
  7. ↑ Website of the Parco Nazionale Museo delle Miniere dell'Amiata on the Miniera del Morono , accessed on June 3, 2013 (ital.)
  8. ↑ a b c d Ippolito Corridori / Arturo Santioli
  9. ↑ Bruno Santi: I Luoghi della Fede. L'Amiata e la Val d'Orcia. Arnoldo Mondadori Editore , Milan 1999, ISBN 88-04-46780-0

Coordinates: 42 ° 45 ′ 20.48 "  N , 11 ° 38 ′ 1.38"  E