Poggibonsi: The Castle of Badia

Imposing, light coloured walls, long communication trenches, towers and battlements. There is stands, on appearance from above the Poggio Marturis hills, the Badia a Poggibonsi castle. An antique building, which has maintained intact its mediaeval sensations even though little remains of the original structure. The first certain information regarding this castle protected by Poggio which dominates the town dates back to Mediaeval times. In particular, the first official document is a gift by the Marquis Ugo of Tuscany to the Benedictine Monks, which dates back to 998. The Badia, in fact, is one of the oldest in the area, developed during incursions of the Barbarians, Longobards and Franks. It was because of this that it was initially created as a castle, and then as a place of defence, and even later, given the vicinity of
the crossroads at that time it became principally a centre for commercial, social and cultural activities.

It is a pity that the castle was slowly abandoned to its own destiny: moreover, a weighty restoration project made in the 18th century practically impoverished it of its antique splendour and transformed it into a late-Romantic dwelling place.
Earlier characteristics are still preserved in the XI century cloister as well as the external walls, the communication trenches, the look-out tower and the position itself are well worth a visit.
The castle lies a short distance from the centre of Poggibonsi. To get there all one needs to do is take the Via di Badia, which passes through Via Santa Caterina and Via Fortezza Medicea.
As it is privately owned, the castle is not open to the public, but the owners, when at home, are happy to allow visitors to freely walk about outside and visit a few of the inside rooms - just ring the bell!

(Portions of this article first appeared in "Toscana & Chianti News")
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