MONTEFORTINO


 

TOWER HOUSES

Casa torre In locations Tre Ponti it is possible to view three farmhouses with a tower-shaped upstand; these contructions are from the 1500s, on square plans with pavilion-style roofs, built of white stones and/or bricks, and having a \ sole entrance at the ground level. On one of these the date -1504 – is evident, as well as a distinctive rose window. These rural structures are planned on 3 floors: stable, living space, dovecot and an internal wooden staircase. The top floor, defined by the stringcourse of perches and warren of niches surrounding the highest part and permitting the passage of the birds, is called the “dovecot”.
In some cases the stringcourses are elegantly decorated with hanging birdtraps and overhanging cornices, all part of the dovecot. The position of these “tower houses” at the mouths of the three valleys lead one to suppose that they were also used as “lookouts,” or guard towers. They are private property.One of them is of notable architectural interest: it is almost completly built from 16th century brick. Other similar structures that are privately owned can be found c/o Vetice, near Colle della Rossa where the “tower house,” also called the “Roccaccia”; c/o Tenna, and lastly c/o Peschiera.

CASTLE WALLS

Montefortino - cinta muraria The historical center of Montefortino was built by alining houses and streets along concentric circles centered around the present day Church of S. Francesco or S. Maria of the Girone. The word “Girone” refers to the fortified circle of castle walls that surround the center, and from which the name “Montefortino” derives. The fortified stronghold was dismantled between 1442-1444; the chapel of S. Maria of the Girone was saved. Most of the castle walls have been incorporated into private homes, however the town government has restored the part of the walls going from the S. Lucia Gate and around the lower part of the village, where in some points the “swallow tail” and Ghibelline crenelations are still visibile.

TEMPIETTO DELL'OROLOGIO (CLOCK TOWER)

Tempietto dell'orologio The end of Largo Duranti is dominated by a unique building called “Le Colonne” or “Tempietto dell’Orologio” and topped by a 15th century tower; the last reworking of the facade dates to the end of the 1700s or the beginning of the 1800s. It was here that the painter and draftsman Fortunato Duranti died on February 27th 1863.