Rocca Aldobrandesca

Covered in moss, this fortress is somewhat battered but still casts an imposing shadow over Arcidosso and remains for all intents and purposes its historic heart and center.

Built during the 10th century, most likely by the Aldobrandeschi family, the fortress has the honor of being the oldest building owned by the state government in all of suburban Italy.

This is something the people of Arcidosso are quite proud of since almost all of the oldest castles in Italy are not state-owned. Instead, they all belong to the descendants of the families who built them or to private buyers who purchased them decades ago when the government was trying to charge for restoration costs!

But back to the Aldobrandesque fortress. After the 10th century it was expanded into a two-story building with watchtowers and crenellated walls. This ingenious design made its breach impossible, until it suffered a relentless siege led by Guidoriccio da Fogliano in 1331. After breaking through the fortress walls, Guidoriccio took Arcidosso in the name of the Republic of Siena, much to the chagrin of the locals.

Today the Rocca Aldobrandesca consists of two buildings that merge into an extremely tall tower. At the top of this tower the gray-brown stone facade is crowned by a series of blind arches on corbels, which form the base of the battlements above.

For a small fee, it is possible to climb to the top of the tower and admire the splendid views that, on a clear day, sweep over all of Arcidosso, the surrounding fields in the valley to the summit of Mount Amiata.