A Medieval Village near Milan: The Castle of Grazzano Visconti

The Castle of Grazzano Visconti, nearby Milan

Welcome, my friends!!
Are you ready to discover a medieval village nearby Milan? Here, in My Own Italy of course!

The Castle of Grazzano Visconti was built in 1395, perhaps on an existing structure, for Beatrice Visconti, the sister of Gian Galeazzo Visconti.  

It remained the property of the Anguissola family until 1870 when Count Philip died without any heir, and the Castle passed to his wife Fanny born Visconti di Modrone, who left her possessions to his nephew Grazzano Guido Visconti di Modrone.

The Castle of Grazzano Visconti

The castle has a quadrangular plan with towers on the four corners.
Built of stone and brick, the alternation of the two materials is used in decorative key with alternating bands and the use of profiles in cooked on the bottom stone.  

The Castle of Grazzano Visconti

The buildings form three sides of the assembly, the fourth is closed by a wall crenellated.  

The entrance was made possible by a drawbridge, of which the traces, over the moat, still exists.

The large park surrounding the castle is about 150,000 m2, and contains: the church, the Duke's studio, the viewpoint that looms over Rio Grazzano, the labyrinth, the Italian garden and several specimens of trees.

My son Francesco in The Italian Garden @ Grazzano Visconti

Through guided tours organized by the tourist board park is now open to the charge at certain times of the year.
   

Carlotta at Grazzano Visconti (Piacenza)

Today a tourist destination, the village is home to shops and eateries and is animated with historical reenactments and costume parties!

 

Hope to have your comments!

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Ciao! Carlotta

Montalcino: The Fortress and The Famous Brunello Wine

The Fortress of Montalcino (Siena, Italy)

Hello, my friends!
Welcome in My Own Italy, happy to let you discover Italy with My Personal Touch!

Today I'd like to tell you something about one of the most famous land of wine: Brunello di Montalcino .

Montalcino (Siena), The Fortress

Montalcino is located on a hill about 600 meters to the right of the Orcia river, about 40 km south-west of Siena, in Tuscany.
Origin of the first Etruscan and then Roman.

 
Its strategic location on the ancient Via Francigena was such that Montalcino rapidly acquired the structure of the military city with great defensive walls, numerous towers and the beautiful fortress that, despite the many sieges, was never conquered.
 

 

 Became a free city under the Guelphs, Montalcino fought almost all the wars of the Middle Ages is and Ghibelline factions and against both the nearby Siena until 1361 when it was granted to Montalcinesi Siena citizens.

The Fortezza was built in 1381 by Domenico di Feo and Mino Foresi and incorporates part of the walls and towers of the previous century.

 

Montalcino, The Fortress

The plant is irregular pentagon with slender corner towers. Inside, the spacious courtyard is now used as a theater for shows and cultural events.

Montalcino and Its Brunello Wine

Montalcino is known even (and mostly!) for the production of the Brunello Wine:  Brunello, a diminutive of "Bruno", a male given name which means brown, is the name that was given locally to what was believed to be an individual grape variety grown in Montalcino.

Wine Testing in Montalcino (Siena, Italy)

Brunello di Montalcino is made 100% from Sangiovese.

The Sangiovese grape is the most widely planted grape in the Montalcino region and is the only permitted grape in the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. 

Wine Shopping in Montalcino (Siena, Tuscany)

The particular clones of Sangiovese are unique to the Montalcino region and have developed in adaption to that area's specific terroir. 

Geraniums in The Fortress

The altitude and climate of the Montalcino region has provided an area where Sangiovese ripens more fully and consistently than anywhere else in Tuscany!

I hope you will enjoy this so famous italian wine... 

I'll wait for your suggestions and comments!

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Ciao, Carlotta

The Marche and the Spectacular Grotte di Frasassi

Grotte di Frasassi (Ancona, Italy)

Hello, my friends!
Welcome again on My Own Italy, and discover with me the beauty of Italy!
Today I'd like to talk about a spectacle of nature unlike any in the World: the Grotte di Frasassi.

Grotte di Frasassi, Entrance (Ancona, Italy)

The caves represent a journey full of surprises: about thirty kilometers long, on eight different levels of concentrations limestone that formed huge stalactites and stalagmites. Really a unique in nature! 

The tour of the caves open to the public is a mile long and a half.

Grotte di Frasassi

The first cave you can visit beginning the path is the one called "Ancona abyss."  Majestic, it is considered one of the largest in the world: its physical size is comparable to that of the Cathedral of Milan!

Parking @ Grotte di Frasassi (Ancona)

I'm sure it will be a so exiting experience for you too: I was so enchanted by the beauty of these caves.

Let me know what your experience will be!

 

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Ciao! Carlotta

Historic Tuscany: Lucca and its walls

Lucca and Its magical Walls

Welcome my friends! 

Glad to have you here in my My Own Italy again, to discover Italy with My Personal Touch!

Today I'd like to indroduce you to a very significant place for the Medieval architecture; I'm speaking about Lucca and its Walls.

Entering Lucca by the doors though The Walls

 The Walls of Lucca are a symbol of the city is recognized worldwide for its beautiful art-monuments for their historical value.

The construction of the walls of Lucca dates back to the Renaissance period that elapses between the first half of the sixteenth century to the mid-seventeenth century and has been preserved intact to this day.  

Lucca, The Walls (Italy)

From an architectural point of view, the walls are made up of twelve curtains embankment, which join together eleven bastions, faced in brick, twelve feet high and thirty wide at the base.

Lucca, beyond its Walls

They extend for more than four kilometers make up a large and impressive urban park.

 

Piazza Anfiteatro, Lucca (Italy)

When you finished to walk around, you can visit the city: a lot of magnificient monuments and the famous  Piazza Anfiteatro.

Me @ "Old Charlie", Piazza Anfiteatro, Lucca (Italy)

  

I'd like to descrive you more, but I'll talk later: now I would like to take a break in this magic Piazza. It's so exiciting to breath this air of ancient times...

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Ciao, Carlotta!

The aristocratic Brianza: Villa Gallarati Scotti

Villa Gallarati Scotti, Vimercate (Monza, Italy)

My friends, welcome in My Own Italy!

Villa Gallarati Scotti, Interior

If you like to breathe the air of nobility, if you are enchanted by the magnificence of the Italian aristocracy, well...  I suggest you to visit Villa Gallarati Scotti, a few steps from Milan.

Villa Gallarati Scotti, The Garden

Located in the north of Milan, in the beautiful and rich Brianza, represents the baroque magnificence.

This is the grandest of the numerous 18 th century pleasure Villas that were built in this area. 

This magnificent baroque building was radically transformed along neo-classical lines between the end of the 18 th century and the beginning of the 19 th by the architect Simone Cantoni.

Villa Gallarati Scotti (Italy), the Nynphaeum of Neptune

Of its previous plan, the Villa retained the wide U-shaped front courtyard with its monumental entrance from the village square, with two lateral classical temples. 

The interior comprises large, richly and harmoniously decorated reception rooms. 

At the rear of the villa there is a large English-style park, at whose northern end stands the Nymphaeum of Neptune.

Me in the interiors of the Villa

I hope you'll enjoy... Actually, I  played to make the guest in Villa: It was not so bad!!

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Ciao, Carlotta!