Top 6 Castles around Civitella Paganico

The "Casa della Memoria" in Batignano (a hamlet of Grosseto) is linked to the historical enhancement of the medieval village and to local religious figures, such as the venerable Father Giovanni Nicolucci. The village, a former fief of the Aldobrandeschi family, preserves walls, towers, and a convent (Santa Croce) that safeguard local history.

The Murlo Castle was the main center of the episcopal fiefdom, seat of the Bishops of Siena. The Castle is dominated at the highest point by the imposing bishop's palace, square in shape and with a sloped base, commonly called the "Palazzone". The entrance door is interesting, surmounted by a pointed stone arch, and inside, the vaulted rooms on the ground floor and the rooms with beams on the first floor are noteworthy. The palace was built by transforming and expanding the pre-existing building consisting of a 13th century tower; traces of it can be seen on the facade and especially inside on all floors. The walls surrounding the village/castle are from the same period and are still visible along almost the entire perimeter, along which there are two doors, one to the north and the other to the south/west. Characteristic are the houses leaning against the walls, most of which were also built after the war of Siena, in which secular traces have emerged during the renovations of recent decades. Until 1832, the seat of the Murlo Town Hall was in this Palazzina. Currently the Bishop's Palace houses the Archaeological Museum of Murlo, with the rich archaeological finds of Poggio Civitate; beautiful views that can be seen from the windows of the top floor.

The municipality of Murlo is very large and is made up of numerous hamlets and small clusters of houses. Nestled in the Val di Merse, it enjoys both the wooded landscape and the typical hilly panorama of Siena. The territory is crossed by the Crevole stream, a tributary of the Ombrone, and by the Merse river that gives its name to the valley. Ruins of churches and castles constitute a cultural heritage of great interest. You can visit quarries and mines and take nature trails that lead to places now forgotten but which retain all their charm intact. The municipality of Murlo is very large and is made up of numerous hamlets and small clusters of houses. Nestled in the Val di Merse, it enjoys both the wooded landscape and the typical hilly panorama of Siena. The territory is crossed by the Crevole stream, a tributary of the Ombrone, and by the Merse river that gives its name to the valley. Ruins of churches and castles constitute a cultural heritage of great interest. You can visit quarries and mines and take nature trails that lead to places now forgotten but which retain all their charm intact.

In the spectacular scenery of the Grosseto countryside, nestled between gentle hills dotted with olive trees, the small village of Batignano suddenly appears to the gaze of those who travel, which blends perfectly with the environment in an example of absolute harmony. The castle owes its importance in the Middle Ages to the mines from which silver and lead were extracted, to be located in the area towards Montorsaio. As if suspended in time, the urban nucleus, a handful of houses marked by narrow streets, small arches, churches, archaeological finds and small open spaces, is a paradise for those seeking a journey between tranquility and peace.

A beautiful and welcoming square

Beautiful castle very well preserved with a small museum inside. It is also called Banfi castle as it is the seat of this established and famous winery.

“La Nave” is a magical place…

Batignano is a characteristic medieval village, still today you can admire the remains of the city walls, the keep, the towers, the doors and a three-arched loggia. Like many other fiefdoms in the area, it belonged to the Aldobrandeschi family. The Walls of Batignano constitute the defensive system of the village, part of the municipality of Grosseto. A first city wall was built in Batignano during the 12th century to defend the noble area located in the upper part of the town. As time passed, the center increasingly expanded towards the concentric plateau located at a lower level than the pre-existing noble area; once this process was completed, there was the need to build a further defensive device that would protect the less ancient part. The construction of the new walls, more external than the pre-existing ones, continued between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and, once completed, they took on a roughly elliptical perimeter. In the following centuries, the Walls of Batignano followed the fate of the rest of the village, undergoing periods of decline followed by renovation and urban redevelopment works, which led, among other things, to incorporating some sections of curtain wall into the perimeter walls exteriors of residential buildings. The Walls of Batignano can be divided into two distinct concentric circles, an older internal one and a relatively more modern external one. The internal walls, trapezoidal in shape, have been almost incorporated into the external walls of the buildings located in the upper part of the centre, among which the ancient keep and a turreted building are recognisable. The external wall, roughly elliptical in shape, entirely delimits the village, alternating some sections of curtain which have perfectly preserved the original medieval characteristics (western bank of the circle) with others which are incorporated into the external perimeter walls of some buildings. Two doors open along the external wall (to the north-east and south-west), while a tower rises along the western bank.