THE CASTLE OF VERRAZZANO

The Castle of Verrazzano, situated on a hilltop 20 kilometres from Florence, dominates the magnificent panorama. The Castle was built on a site first settled by the Romans, possibly even the Etruscans and then by the Longobards. The central tower built in the late Romanic period was joined by an underground tunnel to another tower close by, providing an important point of surveillance over the Greve valley and control of any movement between Florence and Siena. The magnificent vineyards and olive groves surrounding the Castle are mentioned as far back as the 12th Century in a written document found in the Badia di Passignano and dated March 12th 1150.

The chronicles which recount the battles between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines mention many reprisals against the Castle of Chiaro di Verrazzano by the victorious Ghibellines after the battle of Montaperti in 1260 to take revenge for the Guelph faith of the family.

The Castle is described in great detail in the works of Repetti (period of the Grand Duke) who writes: "A grand villa, with attached estate, in the "popolo" (community) of San Martino a Valle", and continues: "This residence and attached farm is known to have been the original home of the Verrazzano family, the descendents of whom hold this place in the highest esteem, perhaps in that it gave the surname to a noble line of Florentines amongst whom is numbered the discoverer of the coastal areas of North America. The farm and residence was left by the last member of the Verrazzano family in this century (1800) to the noble family Vaj of Prato."

The last member of the Verrazzano family died in 1819, and the Vaj family died out in 1921. Repetti says very little about the Verrazzano family because in that period much had been lost pertaining to the life of Giovanni and his brother Girolamo; their fame in fact had suffered the same fate as that of their protectors.

The Castle, which had deteriorated over the centuries along with the disappearance of the Verrazzano family, has today regained it’s ancient splendour and the purity of form of the 10th Century, thanks to the patient and dedicated restoration work undertaken by the owner Cavalier Luigi Cappellini with the help of the Authorities for the Monuments of Florence.