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conquering a castle has never been so easy Lower the drawbridge
[Maddalena Delli]
On Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th of September, Italy joins in the celebration of the 12th European Heritage Days. The Council of Europe created the event to increase public awareness of the importance of heritage, and to awaken the interest of young Europeans in their common history, and made it a key requirement that access to all properties taking part in European Heritage Days should be offered free of charge. Every year in September 48 countries from the Baltic to the Balkans, from Iceland to the Iberian Peninsular, celebrate the legacy of their glorious past, highlighting not only the dazzling diversity of Europe's heritage, but also its intercultural links (if you wish to pursue the subject further, you can visit the European Council official site on www.coe.int).Italy has chosen to celebrate its Heritage Days over the last weekend of September, and for the fifth year running Tuscany devotes the occasion to its extraordinary architectural, artistic and historic legacy of Castelli e Fortificazioni (castles and fortresses) with special openings, guided visits to over of strongholds and castles, fortresses and watch-towers, walled towns and fortified hamlets, many of them restored in recent years thanks to the funds made available by the Regione Toscana.
Thanks to the organizational support offered by the regional branches of the "Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane" (Association of Italian Historic Mansions) and of the "Istituto Italiano Castelli" (Italian Institute of Castles), anyone will be able to explore about seventy of these hidden treasures and gain an uncommon insight into the Middle Ages and the Renaissance history of an area which in those times was the cultural (and often also the economic) hub of the world. Architectural styles and changes will exemplify for instance the evolution of defensive techniques with the invention of firearms, or how sombre Medieval strongholds were converted into comfortable and elegant Renaissance palaces in the 15th century.
So if you haven't planned anything for the last weekend of September, put this down in your agenda and team up with your friends to rent a car, as many of the best castles are (quite obviously) perched on hills and definitely off the beaten track. Still, even the major cities and town have fortresses to offer for the less adventurous or the lazy-bones: Forte di Belvedere in Florence, the Fortezza Medicea and the tower of the Municipal Palace in Arezzo, the ring of city walls in Lucca (see page 10-11 for more!), the Torre Matilde in Viareggio,
the Castello dell’Imperatore in Prato, Castello Malaspina in Massa, the two fortresses (Fortezza Nuova and Fortezza Vecchia) in Livorno, the Fortezza di Santa Barbara in Pistoia, Palazzo dei Vicari at Scarperia in Mugello, are all conveniently located in the city centers and can be reached from Florence by public transport (see www.trenitalia.it for train schedules).
This year's European Heritage Days will also feature a section called Aperto per Restauri, with special openings of sites currently closed to the public on account of ongoing restoration works and free admission to a great number of museums, monuments and archaeological sites, as well as exhibitins, conferences, guided visits and more. The full national program will be available on www.beniculturali.it, while for details on "Castelli e Fortificazioni" (including participating places and contacts to book a guided visit where required) you should keep an eye on www.regione.toscana.it
Please note that due to their nature, more than a few of the castles involved in the event are unfortunately unsuitable for disabled visitors.
For more info call 055.2398376 between 10am and 1pm.
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http://www.coe.int
http://www.trenitalia.it
http://www.beniculturali.it
http://www.regione.toscana.it