The castle of Casenovole

The castle

The old Leopoldina road takes us through an area of typical Mediterranean scrub or "macchia" towards Casenovole. At one time it was an important "curtis", or court, dominated by the Counts of Ardengheschi.

At the end of the thirteenth century the Castle of Casenovole suffered many assaults on the part of those who supported the Sienese family of the Buonsignori. In 1318 they became the new proprietors.

Because of the savagery involved, the city of Siena intervened and during the fifteenth century took the castle under its wing.

Today all that remains of the castle are the outlines of the foundations of several buildings around a central area. It is therefore difficult to imagine how the original courtyard would have looked, since Casenovole has suffered many acts of rebuilding over the centuries. The only part that has been preserved is the northeast entrance way.

The ancient parish church of San Vincenzo, later called the parish church of Saint John the Baptist after the former church of Anciano, is located outside the castle walls. According to a written agreement between the artist and representatives of the parish church, in the seventeenth century it would have contained work of the artist Giovan Battista Giustammiani, nicknamed "Il Francesino".