Torre Fiorenzana is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Grono Grono may refer to: Places * Grono, Switzerland, municipality in Graubünden * Mount Grono Other uses * Grono (surname) * Grono.net Grono.net was a social networking service based in Poland. It was referred to as "the Polish equivalent of ...

of the

Canton of Graubünden The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include: *german: (Kanton) Graubünden ; * Romansh: ** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Surmiran, (Cant ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

History

The

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

was built in the late 12th century for the local ''de Grono'' family. The first mention of the family is 1219. They appear again in local records in 1286 and 1288. The

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

Bernardinus of Grono and the Provost Heinrich appear to have been the last male members of the family. By 1314 it was owned by the powerful Lords of Sax-Misox and a branch of the family inhabited it. In the 14th century they were signing documents as ''de Saco de Grono'' and in the 15th century were ''de Saco de Fiorenzana''. According to tradition, in 1406 the powerful leader of the family, Albert von Sax, was murdered at Fiorenzana. In the 16th century the tower was locally owned. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the

Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grisons) ...

was painted on it at that time. Over the following centuries, it was inhabited by a number of local families and today remains privately owned. The exterior was studied and repaired in 1978.

Castle site

The castle is located in the center of Grono village. It is a five-story, rectangular tower. The

crow-stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in a ...

s along the roof were added by the Lords of Sax-Misox in the 14th century. The original high entrance was located on the third floor and is still visible.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiorenzana Castle Grono Castles in Graubünden

History

Castle site

See also

References