Castello di Montalto The castle of Montalto lies east of Siena , Italy , in an area known as ‘ la Berardenga ’ , which is an extensive territory in the Chianti region of Tuscany . Its position right on the border between the territories of Siena and Florence gave it great strategic importance during the 13th , 14th and 15th centuries . Much of the castle is from medieval times and parts date back to 1000 or earlier ; extensive restorations were performed in the 16th century and again in the 19th century . Description . Montalto stands on a hill overlooking the upper Ambra river . An entry archway surmounted by a turret leads into a courtyard with a well . To the right is the church of San Martino , and a fresco on the inside of the entry tower depicts the famous scene of the saint sharing his cloak with a beggar . To the left is a loggia with four arches from which one has access to the main villa and the Sala d ’ Armi ( Hall of Arms ) with its large fireplace and collection of lances , armor and weapons dating from the 14th century onward . The upper portion of the walls in the Sala d ’ Armi is decorated with frescoes depicting famhouses belonging to the castle in the 16th century and vignettes of every - day activities on the land of the Berardenga ( hunting , farming , etc . ) . The watchtower has loop - holes and ramparts which hint to the castle ’ s past as a stronghold on the highly - contested border between the rivaling towns of Siena and Florence . The complex includes six other buildings and is surrounded by a wall of stone and brick attesting to repeated war damage and reconstructions . Ground fill within the wall circle brings ground level to within 1 meter of the top of the wall on the inner side . History . Early times . The tower appears to have been constructed by the Longobards in the 6th or 7th century , but the main part of the castle was erected during the first millennium by early descendants of Winigis , the first Salic count of Siena under the Franks in the 9th century , and his son Berard from whom the Berardenga land takes its name . There are many references to the Berardeschi ( = descendants of Berard ) family in documents relating to Montalto , the area surrounding it , and the nearby Monastery of San Salvatore a Fontanabuona that was founded by Winigis in 867 and later expanded by his sons Raineri and Berard . The earliest extant documents regarding the castle are from the 11th century , and imply that Montalto was already a well - established community by then . A census document from 1202 shows over 40 families living in its court ( which included not only the castle but the land belonging to it as well ) . However there are a number of documents between 1104 and 1212 registering donations and sales of land to others ( including the nearby Monastery ) , indicating perhaps that the Berardeschi family may have been encountering increasing economic difficulties . The battle of Montalto . Montalto overlooked an important medieval road that was a gateway to the Mediterranean Sea for Arezzo ’ s territories , and was of great strategic importance to Siena because of its position right on the border between the lands of Siena and those of Florence and its allies . The Florentines aimed to put all of Tuscany under their control ; Siena on its part wished not only to retain its independence , but also to annex the town of Montepulciano which controlled the main trading route between France and Rome . From 1201 to 1553 Florence and Siena were eternally at war with each other , and the castle of Montalto was therefore often under attack . Most notably , the greatest damage to the castle occurred during the so - called Battle of Montalto , which took place in June 1208 . There are discrepant reports on how the battle started : one historian recounts that Siena had Montepulciano under siege , and Florence intended to come to the besieged city ’ s aid ; on their way , the Florentine troops attacked Montalto , Siena ’ s main outpost in the area , and Siena came to the castle ’ s aid . Another claims that Siena ’ s troops were on their way to Montepulciano when the Florentines overtook them in the vicinity of Montalto . Others simply state that the two cities came to arms at Montalto . Either way , the resulting battle was fierce and devastating . Both sides lost many men , but Siena suffered the heaviest blow ; Florence took more than 1200 prisoners , and the castle was almost entirely destroyed . The Florentines reportedly boasted that " “ Montalto has been flattened , Montalto is an empty name ” . " The castle was so severely damaged that the Berardeschi appealed to Siena for help in restoring and enlarging the walls . Siena agreed to a loan because of the strategic importance of the castle . The endless war between Siena and Florence . In 1251 Florence again entered Siena ’ s territory , and Siena sent a garrison of 200 men ( infantry and knights as well as some mercenaries ) as well as 25 days worth of supplies to Montalto and two other fortifications in the area to prepare for one of many military campaigns . By this time the Berardeschi family was in decline , and the castle passed under the direct control of Siena . Montalto was the site of many other minor battles , mostly between the state of Florence and the republic of Siena , but also at the hand of German and English mercenaries ( acting either independently or at the service of Florence ) and later French mercenaries allied with the king of Naples . In most cases the Berardenga area was not the marauding armies ’ direct object but simply an occasion for plunder on the way to their destination . Witness to these repeated attacks are the numerous requests to Siena on the part of Montalto ’ s inhabitants for financial help in rebuilding its walls or other fortifications . Variations in the population of the castle and its lands reflect the changes of security . A census conducted to determine tax levies in 1278 shows only 24 families living at Montalto , compared to the over 40 noted in 1202 . In 1320 according to a new census Montalto contains 63 “ fiscal units ” , though it Is unclear whether this refers to families or land . The black plague of 1348 further contributed to depopulation and neglect . A document from 1422 indicates only 13 men were left at Montalto ; in 1453 there were 20 . In addition to financial help , Siena also sent troops and munitions to fortify Montalto on several occasions ( as documented in 1402 , 1431 , 1452 , 1478 ) . The castle successfully resisted a siege in 1479 ; but in 1526 it was reported as occupied by the enemy ; in 1529 Montalto was again hosting a garrison from Siena . These repeated battles and changes of control consumed a large amount of resources , damaged crops , and took quite a toll on the castle and its inhabitants . Restoration efforts . In 1546 Siena and Florence were still at war , and sir Giovanni Palmieri had little difficulty convincing the government of Siena to cede Montalto to him in exchange for his promise to defend it at his own expense . The cost of rehabilitating the castle would be great , but in exchange Palmieri would own an independent " signoria " ( city - state ) . Things were not easy at first : in 1553 Montalto was taken by the Florentines and the Spanish troops of Emperor Charles V ( allied with Florence ) , who then set it on fire before continuing on to nearby San Gusmè . But with the final defeat of Siena in 1554 , hostilities ceased between Siena and Florence and the castle finally saw some respite . Montalto was badly damaged , and its extensive land holdings were neglected and overgrown . Even the church of San Martino results in bad shape and completely bare , as noted in a 1567 pastoral visit report . Francesco and Scipione Palmieri ( sons of Giovanni ) started to restore the castle in 1570 - 1572 , adding Renaissance - style embellishments such as the graceful portico along the facade facing the courtyard . The chapel was whitewashed and received a new floor and altar furnishings in 1583 , though at this point it was no longer an autonomous parish but annexed to the nearby monastery . A series of frescoes depicting coats of arms and life on the estate ’ s share - cropping farms was added in the great hall some time between 1570 and 1587 . The estate became the country home of the Palmieri family , whose primary residence was in Siena . For the following two and a half centuries there is little information about Montalto . A demographic study commissioned in 1676 by the grand duke of Tuscany Cosimo III de ' Medici lists 7 housing groups at Montalto for a total of 50 people , 32 of them men ( not including the Palmieris themselves ) . The " Catasto Leopoldino " land registry of 1830 shows Montalto as owning 5 farm holdings and various parcels of land dedicated to vineyards , crops and woods . A new restoration was undertaken in the middle of the 19th century by Giuseppe Palmieri and completed by his son Antonio in 1908 , in the neo - Gothic style popular at the time . The defensive walls were rebuilt , the watchtower restored to something like its original height , and a new gate tower was built to give entrance to the courtyard . Interior decorations were added to hallways and rooms , depicting the coats of arms of various families related to the Palmieris ; a new church , replacing the old one no longer extant , was built and adorned with an altarpiece painted in the Renaissance style by Giuseppe Palmieri in 1853 , showing the Madonna and Child flanked by two saints with the castle of Montalto in the background ; a fresco was added by Antonio Palmieri on the entry tower , over the Sienese " arco ribassato " , depicting Saint Martin giving his cloak to a ‘ poor devil ’ . Present day . Starting in the 1950s and continuing through the 1970s , small scale farming in Italy became less profitable and farmers abandoned the land to search for work in larger towns . This agricultural exodus left Montalto without a regular farming staff , and it became a burden to the Palmieri heirs . In 1970 the last members of the Palmieri family , the Princess Sobilia Palmieri Carafa di Roccella and her sister Contessa Vittoria Palmieri Forquet , ceded the castle to the former ’ s cousin Giovanni Coda Nunziante , a professor of agricultural economics from Naples . The land is still cultivated , but to supplement the income from agriculture many abandoned buildings were restored as vacation homes . Currently the estate is used for organic farming and for “ Agriturismo ” ( vacation rentals in a country / farm setting ) . Organic farming . The current estate encompasses an area of 270 hectares , about . While two thirds are woodlands , the rest is cultivated . Annual crops include wheat , sunflowers , alfalfa , canola and others , depending on the year . A portion of the land is planted in olive groves . Montalto ’ s lands are also used for honey production by local bee keepers . The farm is certified organic ( no pesticides , chemical fertilizers or weed killers are used ) . Consumer products include extra - virgin olive oil , honey , eggs and garden vegetables in season . Agriturismo . As the houses on the estate became empty , Giovanni and his wife Diana began refurbishing the old stone houses within the castle walls and around the property , offering them for rent as summer homes — pioneers in what has come to be known as agriturismo . The old buildings were gradually restored one by one , bathrooms and heating were put in and plumbing and wiring were improved . A swimming pool and tennis court were installed , and the former granary became a large hall for banquets and ceremonies . Vacation homes at Montalto range in size from one to four bedrooms , and a wing of the castle itself is available for rent as well . Weddings are often performed in the chapel and receptions can be held in the courtyard or in the former granary . The castle and its 5 remaining " poderi " ( farmhouses ) were still inhabited by more than 80 people after World War II . Today only two live in the castle year - round , which hosts nearly 50 in summer . Sources . 1 E . CASANOVA ( a cura di ) , “ Il cartulario della Berardenga ” , 1927 , year 867 , LIII , and year 1003 , II . 2 E . CASANOVA ( a cura di ) , “ Il cartulario della Berardenga ” , 1927 ( anno 1090 , DXIII ) . The document seals the 1090 sale of a piece of land with vineyard , located in the valley below the castle " ( subtus castro de Monte Alto ) " , by Berardo IV son of Ildebrando to Enizello of the Ubaldini family . 3 “ Il Caleffo vecchio del comune di Siena ” , a cura di G . Cecchini , I - II , Firenze 1932 - 1934 4 E . CASANOVA , op . cit . 5 “ Lo statuto dei viarii di Siena ” a cura di D . Ciampoli e T . Szabo , Siena 1992 . 6 G . VILLANI , “ Croniche di Messer Giovanni Villani cittadino fiorentino , nelle quali si tratta dell ’ origine di Firenze & e di tutti e fatti & guerre state fatte dai fiorentini nella Italia dal principio del mondo al tempo dell ’ autore ” , in “ Rerum Italicarum Scriptores ” , Milano 1778 , tomo XIII , cap . XXXIII , pag . 147 . 7 S . AMMIRATO , “ Istorie fiorentine ” , Firenze 1846 , vol . I , pag . 128 8 SANZANOME IUDICIS , “ Gesta Florentinorum ” , ed G . Milanesi in “ Cronache dei secoli XII - XIV ” ( “ Documenti di storia italiana ” , VI ) pag . 137 - 138 : " “ Est factum planum Mons Altum nomine vanum ” . " 9 P . CAMMAROSANO , “ La famiglia dei Berardenghi . Contributo alla storia della società senese nei scoli XI - XIII ” , Spoleto , 1974 , pag . 260 . 10 Archivio di Stato di Siena , Consiglio Generale 183 c . 54v , 209 c . 239r - 239v , 340 c . 14v , 211 c . 23v - 24r , 1669 c . 115r , 2135 c . 80 . 11 M . GINATEMPO , “ Crisi di un territorio . Il popolamento della Toscana senese alla fine del medioevo ” , Firenze 1988 , pag . 615 . 12 A . GIORGI , “ Aspetti del popolamento del contado di Siena tra l ’ inizio del duecento e i primi decenni del trecento ” ( estratto da “ Demografia e società dell ’ Italia medioevale ” , a cura di R . Comba e I . Naso , Cuneo 1994 ) 13 Archivio di Stato di Siena , Estimo 76 . Estimo 93 , c 153 14 Archivio di Stato di Siena , Consiglio Generale 209 , c . 239r - 239v . ; Consiglio Generale 229 , cc . 298v - 299r ; Concistoro 340 , c . 14v 15 Archivio di Stato di Siena , Concistoro N° 260 , c . 19 and 359 , c . 29v . 16 A . ALLEGRETTI , “ Ephemerides senenses 1450 - 1496 ” in “ Rerum Italicarum Scriptores ” a cura di L . A Muratori , vol . XXXIII , 1733 , pag . 789 . 17 Archivio di Stato di Siena , Balia 596 , n° 52 . 18 Archivio di Stato di Siena , Balia 596 , n° 54 ; 14 , c . 47 - 48 . e Balia 401 , c . 93r . 19 Archivio di Stato di Siena , Balia 763 , c . 11 e 17 . 20 Archivio Diocesano di Arezzo , Visite Pastorali , secc . XV - XX , regg . 85 . 21 L . BONELLI CONENNA , “ Castelnuovo Berardenga nel XVII secolo . La relazione Gherardini del 1676 ” , Biblioteca Comunale di Castelnuovo , Quaderno 7 , 1987 . 22 Archivio di Stato di Siena , Catasto Leopoldino , sez . L , f . 25 .