The first trace in the chronicles of the castle, built in the Middle Ages, dates back to 1191. The building was renovated in 1274 by the will of Count Simone Guidi and his son Guido. The castle was the scene of a historic event: on 11 June 1289, in front of the monument, the battle of Campaldino took place. The authorship of the building is uncertain: the oldest part is attributed not uniquely to Lapo di Cambio, while the most recent, dating to the end of the thirteenth century, would be Arnolfo di Cambio.

Inside the building, which for years housed the seat of the municipal administration of the center in the province of Arezzo, you can see a museum on the battle of Campaldino, a chapel attached to the castle, where there is one of the most important cycles of frescoes in the province of Arezzo. Almost entirely frescoed are also its walls: the three cycles on the Stories of St John the Baptist, St John the Evangelist and the life of Mary, in addition to the figures of saints placed below these. In a niche located below a window there is a polyptych trompe-l’œil frescoed, while on each of the four corners of the vault are painted the Enthroned Evangelists, whose authorship was attributed to Taddeo Gaddi, student of Giotto, after the restorations executed between 1988 and 1990. Inside the building, the Rilliana Library, a collection of books of exceptional value and consistency that preserves treasures of great interest: among its 25,000 volumes and brochures stand out a core of over 700 incunabula (one of the largest Italian collections of printed copies of the century. XV) and a collection of 800 manuscripts, of the eleventh century, rich in miniatures and ornate letters. The largest room of the Library contains the entire Camaldolese collections, except of course manuscripts and incunabula that are placed separately.

Reservation: Write to info.buonconte@gmail.com or call  +39 0575.520516.

Castle of the Counts Guidi
Tel. +39.0575520516

Municipality of Poppi
Tel. +39.0575.5021 Fax +39.0575.502222