Rocca Medioevale - The Medieval Castle

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The monumental complex of La Rocca di Campiglia Marittima occupies a semi-circular hill 281 metres above sea level and includes a keep or donjon, cistern, imposing crenellated walls with a mullioned window, and fortress walls with bastions.

The I Parchi della Val di Cornia La Rocca di Campiglia information board reads:

"The term "rocca" (fort, castle) is used to describe the complex of buildings which can be admired on top of the hill. These stone-built edifices are the product of several construction phases, spanning the 12th and 14th centuries. Up until the end of the 13th century, the buildings were inhabited by the members of a branch of an important aristocratic family, the Della Gherardesca family.

This family was responsible for turning the small village of huts at Campiglia into a castle, which was mentioned for the first time in a document dating to 1004.

The upper part of the hill was thus the most representative area of a settlement which, as of the 12th century, also comprised a "borgo" (a medieval hamlet, often with defensive features) which stood on the terraced slopes below the Rocca, and which was defended by an impressive stone-built outer wall.

From 1994 until 1999, the Medieval Archaeology Department at the University of Siena carried out annual excavation campaigns inside and outside the buildings which form part of the Rocca. The information gathered during these investigations, including analysis of the medieval architecture of the borgo, have enabled us to reconstruct the complex history of this site."

from:
www.maremmaguide.com/rocca-di-campiglia-marittima.html