Castle of Torre in Pietra

The Castle of Torre in Pietra , also called Castello Falconieri , is a historic home located in Torre in Pietra, in the Roman countryside.

Initially the village was a castle surrounded by towers and surrounding walls.

In 1254 the castle was owned by the Norman family who brought together some neighboring funds in one property such as Pruniano (Leprignana) e Castel Lombardo ^[first] , then probably passed by inheritance to the Anguillara who, in 1457, at the hands of Lorenzo and Felice Anguillara, for 3000 gold ducats reveals him to Massimo Di Lello di Cecco dei Massimo ^[2] , then passed to the little people.

In 1639 it was sold to the Falconieri principles.
Ferdinando Fuga made the church and the staircase of the main floor of the castle, then Pier Leone Ghezzi made the interiors, mostly the frescoes inherent in the jubilee year 1725. The castle was thus turned out to be at the end of the eighteenth century the center of a survey with surface of over 1900 rubbi equal to 3460 hectares. ^[3]

The castle that we admire today is basically the one who left the falconers.

The frescoes are perfectly preserved: we can relive the glories of the jubilee year 1725, when Ghezzi is called by Alessandro Falconieri to decorate the main floor with scenes celebrating the visit to the Castle of Pope Benedict XIII.

Within the octagonal church, the frescoes on the lateral altars are further testimonies of his work.

Finally, in the second half of the nineteenth century, the falconers extinguish and stone tower knows an era of forfeiture ^[4] .

In 1926 he passed to Senator Luigi Albertini who reclaimed the lands according to the modern techniques and made it among the most prestigious Italian livestock companies.

In 1941 he passed to his daughter Elena Albertini, married to Count Nicolò Carandini, whose heirs still owners of the castle.

The castle is surrounded by gardens with imposing pines. From the garden you access the courtyard with a seed -like columns porch. Inside, on the ground floor, there is the “Peretti room”, with a width of 220 square meters.

The Peretti room of great charm with large fireplace chimney all sixth arch with wedges openings. The room is used for conferences, receptions and weddings.

It is accessed to the main floor with a historic staircase. Ghezzi’s frescoes give a great charm to the environments:

• a salon with the frescoes of the Jubilee of 1725; the vault is in Sesto lowered with wedges
• The falconers rooms
• The Bosco room
• The Green Room
• The gallery (sort of corridor with all sixth arch

These last four rooms are frescoed with tree -lined panoramas. The castle is still inhabited by the heirs of Luigi Albertini who promote an exclusive receptivity activity (see the site): weddings, parties, conferences. The castle has been and is required for important film sets. Guided tours are organized. It is part of the ADSI Association of Italian Historical Houses. It can be visited.

The chapel, with a single nave, is in a baroque style with an octagonal plan.

The door ended at the top of an all -sixteenth -century arch surmounted by a triangular pediment and flanked by 4 pillar pilasters (2 per side).

On the altar there is a painting by a Madonna and Child. It is part of the accommodation: weddings take place there.

In the cellars of the Castello di Torre in Pietra operates the winery of Filippo Antonelli and Lorenzo Majnoni, producers also in Umbria and Tuscany. The cellar was obtained by digging under a tuff hill (formed by the ashes of the Bracciano volcano) and used for the production of wine already starting from the 17th century. In 1938 the structure was expanded and, during the excavations, numerous remains of prehistoric elephants (Elephas Europeus) were found .

Today the company of Filippo Antonelli (which also produces wine in Montefalco, near Perugia) and the cousin Lorenzo Majnoni (whose family Majnoni Guicciardini produces Chianti in Val d’Elsa) can count on 150 hectares, of which 52 cultivated with vineyards . Among the white berry varieties we find the Vermentino, the Chardonnay, the Fiano and the Malvasia dotted; Among those with red berry, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Merlot, Syrah and Cesanese. The vineyards, all cultivated according to the dictates of organic agriculture, fall into the territory of the Municipality of Fiumicino, as part of the new Igt Costa Etrusco Romana and the DOC Roma. The land are slightly hilly, with an average altitude of 50 meters above sea level. They are lands of Pleistocene origin, rich in marine debris, partly Franco-Sabbiosi (used for white berry vines), partly Franco-clay (for red berry ones). The breeding system is rowed with spared bore bass and guyot, the plant density of 5,000 strains/hectare. The vineyards with South and West exhibition, the modern equipment, the competence of the technicians in the vineyard and in the cellar, are all decisive aspects for the production of a quality wine. Open to visits and tastings, in the beautiful cellars of the Castello di Torre in Pietra Since the beginning of 2015 there has also been the Osteria dell’Elefante.