A Tour of the Castle

I realize how late this blog post is, considering we stayed in Montalto Castle more than three weeks ago. However, our experience at the castle needs to be shared, as it was certainly an interesting part of our journey.

We stayed in the castle for four nights, and became quite comfy there before moving onto Umbria. The two-story apartment where we stayed is called “Torre del Vescovo”, and a big part of it was a tower with stunning views in every direction.

Let’s start the tour.

Entrance. We enter at an ancient-looking door, which is some sort of metal (the color was a deep brown, maybe a rusty color). There is one handle on each the outside and in. The one on the outside looked like the little propellers that are sometimes on hats (especially children’s), and opens the door when you push down on it. From the inside, you opened and closed the door with a latch, which sometimes proved difficult. After getting inside, look around at the living room.

Living Room. The living room consists of a fireplace (that we never lit), two small couches and one chair, a beautiful and elaborately decorated rug, a small wooden table, a wall of books, and a piano. All of the ceilings were really high, so this room had a feeling of both warm and cheery, and bright and drafty. Steve simply loved the piano- he had been waiting to find one all trip (that meant that we were constantly listening to “The Flintstones” and “Minuet in G that is played in C by Steve”). Many portraits were hung on the walls, and designs hand painted on the walls are present as well. One painting on the wall showed the family crest painted all those years ago. Behind the couches was a table with 6 chairs- obviously meant for eating. My favorite feature of the living room was the humongous window/door that opens out to our patio. This window/door is the main source of light for the room, and it opens out to wonderful views of rolling hills and the slowly growing ivy that threatens to engulf it.

Patio. The patio gives away more wonderful views. Looking at our tower from the outside, it becomes more clear that green is the main color- almost the whole building is covered with ivy. Our patio was bigger than I had originally expected. Once outside, there were about 8 steps leading down to the main patio. The patio holds a metal framed table, complete with 6 chairs. Sitting out there, our family played Yahtzee at least twice throughout our stay. There was also another, ancient looking stone table out there, but no chairs were there with it, so we stayed away from it. Rosebushes lined one of the patio walls, and it was a great place to stay and relax.

Ground Floor. The rest of the downstairs consists of the small kitchen and a bathroom. Hanging in the hallway of the downstairs floor is a portrait of a man who you can see is extremely short. We later found out, from the owners, that this man was a court jester (a man who kept the king entertained). I guess his height was funny to the king at the time.

Bedrooms. We are now walking up the steps to the upstairs part of the apartment, where we have all of the bedrooms and a bathroom that the kids mainly used. In all, there were three bedrooms. Cupcake got her own, Steve and I shared, and Mom and Dad shared. The bedrooms were all basic, like normal hotel bedrooms, but you could definitely sense that the structure itself was old. The decorations on the walls were also one of a kind (pictures and paintings). Steve’s and my room had two beds, so he and I each got our own. Our door, like all of the doors, had a different sort of handle than we were used to, and it was slightly harder to open and close them (one time it took me five minutes to get out of the room). At night, the bedrooms were either too warm or too cold. Luckily for us, all of the rooms included a fan, so we weren’t hot (there was no air conditioning), and if we ever got too cold, there were blankets!! All of the bedrooms were nice, though Mom and Dad clearly had the master bedroom (it included a bathroom). However, Cupcake’s bedroom was by far the best, not for its size, but because the entrance to a secret passageway/room was located there.

Hidden Room. The secret passageway/room was very interesting, and pretty well hidden. The door to the secret room was the exact same color as the wall around it, and you could barely see the hinges. Once you discover the entrance, though,  it becomes easy-to-spot. The secret door leads to another door which then shows you the way (through a briefly outside passage) to a tall, rickety ladder. This ladder climbs to the very top of the tower, and I’m sure it is a very panoramic view (only Cupcake and Steve actually went up there because we realized that the ladder was not stable). Cupcake and Steve enjoyed the top of the tower, and the secret of the hidden door. It’s fun to have a secret in your apartment.

Tower Bedroom. There is one last place I would like to share, to end the tour of the Montalto apartment. The stairs leading up to the second floor splits into two sets of stairs halfway up, and we are going to go up the stairs that do not lead to the three bedrooms. These other stairs lead up to a little bedroom, isolated from the rest. It was smaller than the others, but both Steve and I wanted to sleep in it, because it looked cozy and had its own tiny patio. I let Steve have it, but he apparently realized (after I had unpacked) that he would rather sleep with me. I understand how it could seem a little scary at night, not even adding the fact that there is a ghost – The Blue Lady – that haunts that specific room (they found her skull in that room, or so the owner of the estate claimed).

And that concludes my tour of the Montalto apartment. The grounds of Montalto were great too. There was a library and TV room, available to all guests. There was a game room (where Steve, Dad, and I played many rounds of ping pong and foosball). There was a very nice outdoor pool (where Steve and Cupcake caught lizards, and where Steve and I played “Keep the Ball Away from Steve”). The grounds surrounding the castle also made for a fun walk! The breakfast buffet we had one day was pretty good, with a lot of options.

On our second afternoon the old lady who owns the estate invited the Agriturismo’s guests into her home to share the history of the castle over drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Mom, Dad, and I went, and I walked away knowing so much more. She and her daughter told us about the wars between Florence and Siena (Montalto sided with Siena, but Siena lost). The castle was so close to the enemy territory (Florence) that we could actually see the enemy (or at least castle ruins on Florence’s side). The stories she shared gave us a whole new lens through which to consider our day trips to Florence and Siena.

Later, the castle even played a role during WWII. She told us the story of British soldiers who had escaped the Nazis and lived in hiding in the woods nearby, secretly aided by local townspeople. Years later, well after the Germans had been defeated, the men returned to the town and hosted a great feast for the townspeople, in gratitude for their assistance during the war. I love history!!

This concludes my tour of Montalto. Torre del Vescovo was a unique place to stay, decorated with period pieces, worn but comfortable. We had a blast in the game room, continuing a love for foosball that developed in the Dolomites. The pool and grounds were fun to explore. And the staff and history were absolutely amazing! The castle is a great piece of history, and I was glad to be a part of it.

Editor’s Note: 

On the morning we left Montalto, Steve walked part of the grounds to capture an outside view of the castle grounds. Enjoy his report!

Share

"Potter"

Hello! I'm Potter. I am 13 years old and I LOVE anything and everything to do with Harry Potter. I'm a Ravenclaw, and I really enjoy school, especially math, language arts, and history. In my free time (or anytime I’m not doing something), I'm a voracious reader. Anything from fantasy to historical fiction and everything in between. In addition, I'm passionate about acting, singing, and dancing. I can’t WAIT to explore Europe, and try new things with a smile on my face!

One thought on “A Tour of the Castle”

• 

  Roma August 14, 2016 at 1:51 pm

  I just loved this tour! I felt like I was there!!!!!
  I think you can be my personal tour guide when I go to Italy!

Comments are closed.