New conservations in the Archeological Park of Poggibonsi
After a long and careful restoration, the Medici Fortress of Poggibonsi was inaugurated last Saturday. The reopening of the imposing structure to the public represents the recovery of another important piece in the history of the archaeological park of Poggibonsi, one of the most important of the medieval age in Italy. In fact, the park is characterised by a very rich settlement stratification, which starts from the early Middle Ages to arrive at the sixteenth century, the era to which the Medici fortress dates back, built by the will of Lorenzo the Magnificent with the intention of strengthening the southern border of the Florentine state.
An archeological park worthy of a visit
The archaeological complex deserves, both for importance and for the quality of the educational itinerary, to be included in the tourist circuits involving the Sienese territory: arriving at the archaeological park, the visitor will really have the opportunity to ‘touch’ the Middle Ages. A visit to the park can start from the Archeodrome where the residence of the Lord (Longhouse) of a Frankish village from the 9th to the first half of the 10th century has been reconstructed on a 1:1 scale, the remains of which were found in nearby archaeological excavations. Inaugurated in October 2014, the Archeodrome, unique in Italy for the early Middle Ages, is a fascinating ‘historical scenario’ where interesting experimental archeology events are held every Sunday. Near the Archeodrome you can visit the archaeological excavations of the hill of Poggio Imperiale, whose chronology begins in the 5th-6th century AD, ending with the construction of the Medici fortress in the 16th century.
From the excavations we move on to visit the documentation centre, housed inside the keep of the Fortress, where the settlement vicissitudes of the place are illustrated over its long duration. The itinerary, which offers an extremely effective overview for understanding medieval archeology, can now be concluded with a pleasant walk on the fortress walls which, after the restoration, have been equipped with a two-kilometre walkway and from which you can admire the Chianti landscape and the towers of San Gimignano, visible in the distance.
The restored fortress inaugurated
The inauguration ceremony, held in September 2015, was then concluded with a ‘Renaissance’ dinner in which revisited dishes of sixteenth-century cuisine were proposed; to make the dinner even more suggestive, the “Renactors” who, in beautiful Renaissance costumes, entertained the dinner guests with technical demonstrations of late medieval and Renaissance dueling.
A particular applause goes to Prof. Marco Valenti, scientific director of the Archaeological Park of Poggibonsi, who, together with his group of archaeologists and in synergy with some local institutions, has worked tirelessly in recent months for the recovery of the fortress and for the construction of the Longhouse, opened last October.
For more info on the Archaeological Park of Poggibonsi, click here to visit the Archeodrome’s official website, or visit the Archeodrome’s Facebook page ⟢
