History
 Situated
at the edge of the tree-filled, tufa-soil zone east of Vignano that
slopes – with
a series of villas, woods and olive groves – towards the more stark
and less-populated area of the Crete Senesi, the Castello delle Quattro
Torra with its four angular towers and battlements, its lovely,
austere courtyard recalling that of the City Hall, and its characteristic
stairway, the castle
commands attention and arouses the curiosity of anyone passing through
this area near Siena.
The castle originally belonged to the Cinughis, an aristocratic feudal
family from Siena.
During the war of Siena (1555), the castle saw eventful vicissitudes:
tradition holds that the Marignano lodged here, and in this unfortunate episode
the extravagant furnishings Giovanni Bichi had filled it with were lost.
With the fall of Siena, the castle’s story ends: with peace restored,
it became simply a picturesque and quiet country residence, which still today
lends an original touch to the landscape and recalls a time not so long ago
but in many ways tormented by the struggles that had always tainted the peaceful
enjoyment of so many of the delights God has given to men.
Since 1885, the castle has been inhabited and conserved by the Ponticelli
family.
Recent studies have suggested that the Castello delle Quattro Torra
could be the one painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in this fresco mural “The
Allegory of Good Governement ” in Siena’s Palazzo Pubblico (1339).
|
