Siena is full of a thousand things – The fortified castle of Bibbiano, a masterpiece by Peruzzi
The fortified castle of Bibbiano is known in documents from at least 850 when it was owned by the Lombard count Guinigi di Reghinari, imperial legate at the time of Ludovico II.
The name Bibbiano seems to derive from “Bibbio” (in Latin bibianum), an aquatic bird similar to the duck of which these lands were rich and was also known as Wigeon.
The castle belonged to the Guiglieschi family until 1051, when Arrigo III assigned it to the abbey of Sant’Antimo. Around 1345, linked to the Republic of Siena, it passed to the Bichi family, and it is said that the painter Pietro Lorenzetti also remained there.
In the fifteenth century the modernization works were entrusted to Giorgio Lombardo and in the first half of the sixteenth century it was even restored by Baldassarre Peruzzi (whose structures recall the forts that he had inserted as fortifications within the walls of Siena) on behalf of Cardinal Raffaello Petrucci , who had taken possession of it since 1515. Over time it has belonged to the Borghese family (Marcantonio Borghese father of Paul V lived his adolescence here, before embarking on his dazzling career at the Papal Court in Rome), the Chigi and the Malavolti.
In 1909 an earthquake brought down the top of the tower of the walls which was then restored. In 1913 it was acquired by the lawyer Mario Costanti Marri Mignanelli and in 1922 it was declared a national monument. Today it is still private, closed (unfortunately) and waiting to be restored and reopened. Moment in which I will run to see being truly a unique structure in our area.
Although over the centuries it has been used more as a residence than as a fortress, it still has the appearance of a medieval castle today: a massive quadrilateral surrounded by a moat, the main door with a drawbridge, two walls with slits, a walkway and a much of the Guelph battlements intact, two corner turrets with defensive apparatus protruding from stone corbels (both on the western front, one intact and one disappeared), central keep (whose top was rebuilt after the 1909 earthquake and equipped of roof resting on the existing battlements).
The coat of arms of the Chigi family stands out on the entrance door and, at certain times, you seem to catch a glimpse of the shadow of Peruzzi delighting in this small masterpiece.
Mauro Martelli