Emperor's castle

History of the Castle

The Emperor's Castle is the most remarkable testimony in north - central Italy of the architectural school developing around the fascinating personality of Frederick II (1194 - 1250), Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, of the Swabian Hohenstaufen family.

The building is supposed to have been erected in the years 1242 -1248. The architect Riccardo da Lentini, already famous for the building of some castles in Sicily, cooperated with Frederick from Antiochia (son of Frederick II) in its construction.

The Structure of the Castle

​The structure is based on four main towers in square shape whose vertexes indicate the cardinal points. Frederick's death and the decline of the imperial politics in Tuscany prevented the completion of the interior of the castle: in the following periods the space was used according to different needs (barracks or later military prison).
The castle was restored in the thirties of this century.
In the materials used we find the same taste for the two-colour decoration adopted in Romanesque - gothic architecture in Tuscany, even for church buildings: the "alberese" in white or light grey, and the "serpentine" or green from Prato.
A gate on the eastern side connected the castle, trough a walking elevated path (Cassero), to the defence walls of Porta Fiorentina. A winding staircase in alberese takes to the bay from where you enjoy a wide view on the landscape in the direction of Florence and the Montalbano.
Since 1975 the Emperor's Castle has been open to visitors and in the large inner yard public events take place.