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Torrita di Siena Torrita di Siena
OLD TOWN
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Torrita di Siena
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The historic center of Torrita looks like the urban evolution of a fortified castle surrounded by the ancient walls, dating back to the twelfth century, but rebuilt and strengthened by Baldassarre Peruzzi in 1528.
Presumably founded around the year 1000, the name of Torrita appears for the first time in an Amiata codex of 1037. and from the second half of 1100, it was for a long time an important border castle of the Scialenga, controlled by the Cacciaconti family, which then it owned all the castles located on the west side of the Val di Chiana. Their dominion over Torrita is confirmed by a diploma dated 27 August 1210, issued by the Emperor Otto IV.
Despite the continuous attempt of the Sienese Republic to subdue the territories of Scialenga, starting from 1175, the castle of Torrita remained under the control of a family branch of the Cacciaconti for the entire first half of the 1200s. Only the opposition that arose between two branches of that family: the Monacheschi of the nearby castle of Fratta and the Chiaravalle, lords of Torrita which resulted, in July 1279, in the occupation of the castle of Torrita by Tacco.
Considering the vital importance of the place, in the garrison of the southern border of the Sienese dominions, the Republic intervened directly by taking control of Torrita. In 1286 Ghino's father and uncle were arrested and executed, who avoided conviction because he was still a minor. This is the starting point for Tacco Cacciaconti's personal story of Di Ghino, later described as the "Gentleman Brigand".
Under the walls of Torrita, in 1363, one of the most important battles took place between the Florentine Guelphs and the Sienese Ghibellines, who prevailed. However, this was not always the case. Torrita, in fact, suffered looting and heavy damage on at least two occasions:
in 1322 by Deo Tolomei, a Sienese exile supported by the Aldobrandeschi
in 1383 by Boldrino da Panicale, captain of fortune in the pay of Perugia.
Torrita passed under the control of the Florentines, becoming part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany only in 1554, with the definitive fall of the Republic of Siena.
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