Piccolomini Castle

The Piccolomini Castle, located in the centre of the town in the highest part, stands on the remains of a medieval fortification, of which the inner square tower remains visible. Received by the Piccolomini family in 1463 from King Ferdinand, the castle has a trapezoidal plan with three circular towers at the corners and one side better defended by bastions and a moat. Resisting the siege by Braccio da Montone, it still has Renaissance windows and an architraved portal with the Piccolomini coat of arms.

The inner courtyard houses a 15th-century well flanked by columns with capitals and mysterious monoliths dating back to the 7th-6th centuries B.C., carved with an H motif, probably the bases of wine presses for religious rituals linked to wine production. The crenellated tower offers a panoramic view over the valley, the sources of the Tirino river and the route of the transhumant shepherds, recalling the strategic importance of the castle for controlling the territory and the wool trade.

Today, some rooms house the municipal offices and a small military museum, which collects objects from the two world wars: saddles, bastes, field equipment and wound stretchers, providing a link between the medieval, Renaissance and more recent history of the community.