page_title: Castello della Rancia
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Castello della Rancia / History
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Tolentino. Castello di Rancia. Ingresso principale con ponte in muratura. Cortile interno con vista della torre angolare. Servizio fotografico&#160;: Tolentino, 1969 / Paolo Monti. - Stampe: 3&#160;: Positivo b/n, gelatina bromuro d'argento/ carta, 24x30. - ((Al verso delle stampe manoscritti i numeri dei negativi corrispondenti (formato 35 mm) con indicazione del fotogramma: 895/21, 895/27, 895/34. - Sul coperchio della scatola iscrizione didascalica manoscritta a pennarello nero: "Architettura/ Castelli". - Occasione: Documentazione per la pubblicazione: Touring Club Italiano, "Marche", Milano, TCI, 1971. - Fonte: Agenda di Paolo Monti: Monti/ 3 aprile 1966 - 9 marzo 1971/ 12421-16823 (1966-1971), presso Archivio Paolo Monti. - Fonte: Monografia di Touring Club Italiano: Marche, Milano, TCI (1971). - Fonte: Agenda di Paolo Monti: Monti - Agenda 1969 (1969), presso Archivio Paolo Monti
context_page_description: Rancia castle is a medieval castle, nearly 7 km from Tolentino in the province of Macerata, region of Marche, Italy. It remains relatively well preserved in the valley of the Chienti.
context_section_description: A fortification at the site was present before the 13th century and used by the monks of the nearby Fiastra abbey.
  In 1350, Rudolfo II, belonging to the family of Varano, the lords of Camerino, expelled the monks and created a fortification to defend the Chienti valley and control the Roman road that ran parallel to it. The architect Andrea Beltrami completed the castle in 1357.
  By 1581, the Jesuits had taken possession of the Fiastra Abbey, and the Castle had lost its military importance, ministering to a large farm and as a hostel for pilgrims on their way to Rome.
  In 1782 Pope Pius VI came to Tolentino and granted all the possessions of Fiastra Abbey, including the Castle, to the noble family Bandini. The last descendant, Maria Sofia Gravina di Ramacca, in 1974 gave the Castle to the Municipality of Tolentino, the present owner.
  The castle was hotly contested during the Battle of Tolentino in 2 and 3 May 1815. Occurring at the end of the Napoleonic conflicts, the troops of Murat, King of Naples battled the Austrian troops aiming to restore the Bourbon rulers of Naples. The Austrians prevailed and Murat's forces were made to retreat. The Battle of Tolentino is now celebrated in commemoration named "Tolentino 1815", which takes place every year in the countryside surrounding the Rancia castle.
caption: The courtyard photographed by Paolo Monti in 1969
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