THE CASTLE VILLAGE
Historic residence in Tuscany
ABOUT US
Small Tuscan village
GARGONZA, located in the heart of Tuscan hills, is a thirteen-century fortified medieval village reminescent of the toy forts that children enjoy building on the floor, spending hours moving around the tower or the well, enclosing houses inside a thick wall which no enemy can break through…
From Psychanalyse de la maison- Olivier Marc
Surroundings of Gargonza
THE GEMS OF TUSCANY
History
From the thirteen century
Dante Alighieri spent the first days of his exile there in 1303 and already in the 15th century, under the Government of Florence, Gargonza, in 1300 was a fortified village under the Ghibellines and from 1444 it became for 300 years an agricultural community dedicated to the woods and “governed” by wise civic statutes that regulated the life of this small agricultural community.
“Hearing Dante, he walked with great speed to Siena; there, clearly understanding his calamity, and seeing no remedy, he decided to join with the other exiles: and the first gathering was in a congregation of exiles, which was held at Gargonsa, where, having discussed many things, they finally set up their seat at Arezzo, and there they made a large camp, and created Count Alessandro Da Romena as their captain general, they appointed twelve councilors, of whose number was , and from hope to hope they remained until the year 1304.”
(Leonardo Bruni “The Life of Dante Alighieri”)
Dante Alighieri in Gargonza
The first news of Gargonza dates back to 1150, when a fortified castle is mentioned on the road from Arezzo to Siena: it is the same castle where Dante spent a few days of his exile in 1304. It belongs to the Ubertini Counts, a Episcopal family of Arezzo. During this period Gargonza was chosen as a place of congregations of the Ghibellines who had escaped from Florence and Arezzo and it is here that Dante Alighieri passed during his long
exile from Florence.
Passage to Siena
In 1381 Giovani Azzone degli Ubertini sold the village and its lands to the Republic of Siena for 4000 florins. The Sienese remained for only 4 years but had time to fortify the entire village by building the medieval Tower in addition to the entrance arch, thus making the village protected.
The Florentine Republic
In 1385, however, it passed to the Florentine Republic which maintained the independence of Gargonza and its inhabitants who had full control over their territory. It is here that the Statutes were written which established the definition of Gargonza as a “Comunello”. The Gargonzini parliament was in the Pieve di SS. Tiburzio e Susanna in Gargonza. Independence lasted until 1433 when the Florentine Republic imposed the “Catasto” on agricultural products. After several clashes, the Florentines prevailed and completely destroyed the village, leaving the Tower and the entrance arch intact.
The Statutes of Gargonza
The Statutes were real “Constitutions” that regulated the activities of the inhabitants of the village and the various prominent figures of the civic administration were well listed. The inhabitants were distinguished in “Terrazzani” who had some prerogatives compared to those who were not, for example on the ownership of the houses and on the fruits of the forest. The community nominated its own “Priors” who remained in office for three months. To these were added the very feared figure of the “Camerlengo” who was responsible for collecting taxes.
From the Florentine Republic to the Marquises Lotteringhi della Stufa and the Marquises Corsi.
In 1458 Gargonza was assigned to the Marquises Lotteringhi della Stufa and the village slowly began to move towards a more regular life, given that the disputes over the borders between the provinces of Siena, Florence and Arezzo had ended.
However, the period of the Statutes continues and in 1700, in addition to the roles of Prior and Camerlengo, other civil offices were added, such as that of the Vicar, the Messenger, the Campaio and the Massaio delle Smenti. The Vicar was responsible for settling disputes on the basis of the “customary” law in force at the time while the Messenger was the body responsible for the community’s security for thefts and damages. The Campaio was the one who managed the community’s agricultural activity by coordinating the various jobs while the Massaio delle Smenti was the person who was responsible for controlling the price of the harvest and the proper functioning of the mill. Finally, the Guardia was responsible for checking the proper maintenance of the “Selve” (woods). Through a dowry received for a marriage between a descendant of the Corsi family and that of the Marchesi della Stufa, the village and its lands passed to the Corsi Salviati family in 1696. In the meantime, agricultural life developed more and more and the figures described above were joined by that of the Innkeeper who had the obligation to live in the village in order to continue producing bread. If he left, he would lose this right.
1150
The earliest records of Gargonza as a fortified village of the Val di Chiana date back to a 1150: a quotation that mentioned a fortified castle along the road from Arezzo to Siena: which is the same castle where Dante spent as his exile. Sought after by Guelfi and Ghibellini, during the XV century the Castle of Gargonza was known as the village which dedicated itself to cultivating the woods as well as wool production.
XVII sec.
During the XVII century, the Castle became an organized 900 hectare share cropping farm with thirty-three farms and homes for farmers and their families. The village already had, besides guestrooms, a parish, a house of canons, a school, an oil mill, stables, and four bread ovens (still functioning).
1970
After two hundred prosperous years, during the first half of the Twentieth century, the Castle was abandoned by a community who left for a better life in the city. Around 1970, Roberto Guicciardini Corsi Salviati, began the restoration process with the aim to save a village trying to preserve it’s original architecture and bring back it’s community. No longer a community of farmers but a community of travellers!