The Castle of Porciano

From a hill near the town of Stia, the Castle of Porciano surveys that of Romena from afar. Two ancient watchtowers in the land of Arezzo, on the hilltops of Casentino valley.

The castle’s elegant silhouette overlooks a small group of stone houses along Via Dante Alighieri. Here the Great Poet was hosted several times by the Counts Guidi, lords of the valley, during his exile from Florence. A hall on the second floor of the magnificent tower, which dates back to the 13th century and is about 35 meters high, is named after Dante.

A House-Fortress, it was one of the earliest settlements of the Counts Guidi in this part of Tuscany. In the mid-15th century the manor house and the lands of Porciano came under the control of the Florentine Republic. Later, around the end of the 18th century, the castle became a private property and was completely restored between the 1960s and 1970s. 

Inside, an Agro-Pastoral Museum and some interesting archaeological finds tell about the local past. Among the curiosities to be admired is a small collection of American Indian artifacts and objects that belonged to the pioneers of the New World, linked to the history of the owner’s family.