Soncino Castle (Italian: ''Rocca di Soncino'') is a military fortress in Soncino, northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It was built in the 10th century, and it was active since the years around 1500. Rocca ovest

History

A set of walls around a defensive structure were built in the 10th century, in order defend the borough from the marauding

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

. In 1200 it was besieged several times by the armies of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

, and in 1283, after being destroyed by the attacks of those armies, the commune of Soncino decided to rebuild the castle. In 1312 the castle was occupied by the Cremonese army, and in 1391 by the Milanese army, using it during the war against the

Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. In the year 1426 new walls were added to raise the previous ones.

The actual building

When the "

peace of Lodi The Treaty of Lodi, or Peace of Lodi, was a peace agreement to put an end to the Wars in Lombardy between the Venetian Republic and the Duchy of Milan, signed in the city of Lodi on 9 April 1454. The historical relevance of the treaty lies in ...

" was declared in 1454, the borders between the Venetian Republic and Duchy of Milan were established, and the Castle passed to the Duchy of Milan. The Duke of Milan,

Francesco Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'Aqui ...

, reinforced the walls of and around the castle,Ville e castelli d'Italia: Lombardia e laghi
second edition, by

Luca Beltrami Luca Beltrami (November 13, 1854 – August 8, 1933) was an Italian architect and architectural historian, known particularly for restoration projects. Biography Early life and education Beltrami was born in Milan then part of the Austrian Em ...

; article by Beltrami, Editors of Tecnografica, Milan, (1907), page 201-210. which led to the request for construction in 1468 to Soncino people's desire requested by letter to the Duke of Milan, although he chose to erect just a new tower with the characteristic circular shape. Further reconstruction took place from 1471 by Benedetto Ferrini and Danese Maineri, engineers responsible for the fortresses of Soncino and

Romanengo Romanengo ( Cremasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy, located about east of Milan and about northwest of Cremona. Romanengo borders the following municipalities: Casaletto di Sopra, Iz ...

. and in 1473,

Bartolomeo Gadio Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo is a masculine Italian given name, the Italian equivalent of Bartholomew. Its diminutive form is Baccio. Notable people with the name include: * Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo (1824–1860), Italian paleobotanist and ...

also contributed. From 1499 to 1509, the castle was held by the Venetians, until with French aid, the fortress was again held by the Milanese.

The assignment to the noble Family Stampa

In 1536 the

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

assigned the Milanese

Stampa Stampa is a former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Maloja (district), Maloja district of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton, Graubünden. It is now part of the municipality of Bregaglia. History Stampa is fir ...

family the

Marquisate A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

of Soncino. This family transformed the castle into a residence commissioning frescoes by

Bernardino Gatti Bernardino Gatti (c.1495 – 22 February 1576) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in Parma and Cremona. He is also commonly called il Sojaro. He was born in or near Pavia or Cremona. His early apprenticeship is unclear, ...

and

Vincenzo Campi Vincenzo Campi (; c.1530/1535–1591) was a 16th-century Italians, Italian painter working in Cremona during the Late Renaissance. Campi is best known as one of the first Northern Italy, northern Italian artists to work in the Flemish painting, F ...

for internal rooms of the castle and the chapel. In 1876 Massimiliano Stampa, last Marquis of Soncino, bequeathed the castle to the town, and the town hall in 1883, in collaboration with

, began the restoration of the castle. Rocca torre

The structure

The Soncino Castle is strategically positioned near the town, although the four centuries it has been used as a residency has given it a harmony with the external sides, starting from the entrance that today is positioned into urban square. The entrance of the castle, a portal, that once a time was limited by a drawbridge, it was replaced at the end of 1800 by a

ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle a ...

that give access to a first courtyard used in the past as disengagement for the troops and provided of stairs to access the battlements of the external walls. The fortress entrance was permitted by two different drawbridges, one carriageable and one pedestrian. Passing through the disengagement, after the second entrance, there is the real courtyard, and in the center of that there is a well able to guarantee the necessary water in case of siege, and from this courtyard it is possible to access to the secret's underground. Among the four towers, the most interesting is the Castellan's tower (Torre del Castellano), called in this way because once a time it was the official residence of the Castle's Governor, and for this reason it was possible to isolate it from the rest of the castle in case of sieges. That tower was connected directly to the secret's underground and from here, through a secret passage, was possible to pass through the castle's ditch and run on the fields around. Is this one of the renaissance's decoration areas, with frescos and fireplaces with pyramidal hood.

The internal courtyard of the castle

The chapel built by the Marquis of Stampa is located in the 16th-century south-east tower. Here is possible, still today, to see traces of frescoes including the most ancient of that (dating at the end of the 15th century), depicting the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

with the child

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. Still here, it is possible to find a fresco from an anonymous painter representing the Duchy of Milan's coat-of-arms flanked by torches and water buckets, symbols the personal motto of

"Accendo e spengo" (I light up and I turn off), together with others heraldic enterprises. The ceiling is painted with an arbour drawing as in the Milan's

Sforza Castle The Sforza Castle ( ; ) is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later renovated and enlarged, in the 1 ...

. The round tower, unique on its particular shape, at the battlements level presents a round room with a circular canopy in the center that has a cylindrical column that lead to the top of the bastion that is in conical shape and significantly higher respect to the others just to give a higher watch point. This tower, built in the 1500, has traces of several coat-of-arms paintings and of a crucifixion, today in a deep degradation status. This last painting means that the chapel was placed here, in the past, and moved eventually in the other tower.

Bibliography

*''Guida ai castelli d'Italia: origini, architettura e storia, eventi castellani, ospitalità, visita e orari'', E. Roddolo, Piemme, 1996 *''I castelli della Lombardia'', Conti F., Hybsch V. and Vincenti A., Novara 1992, v. III p. 76

References

External links

Soncino Tourism site
entry on the Castle. {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Cremona Soncino 15th-century architecture