Poppi Castle and the Murderous Madam Matilda

Poppi Castle is a medieval castle overlooking the Casentino Valley in the province of Arezzo in the Italian region of Tuscany. This castle is said to have been built around the second half of the 13^th century AD, though some sources claim that references to Poppi Castle can be found in documents dating back to the end of the 12^th century BC. Today, Poppi Castle is commonly considered to be one of Tuscany’s best preserved castles.

Poppi Castle was built by the Guidi family, and remained in their possession until the 15^th century. The Guidis were a feudal family that is said to date back to the 10^th century, and were in control of the Casentino Valley. Apart from Poppi Castle, the Guidi family had other strongholds in the Casentino Valley, as well as in regions further up north. A popular legend is that using a system of lights and mirrors, the Guidis could send a message from Poppi to the French border in less than 8 hours.

Castle Layout

The original core of the castle was its high square tower. This structure dominated, and still does even today, the rest of the castle, as well as the underlying valley. However, that the present tower is a reconstruction of the original, as restoration work had to be carried after it was damaged by a lightning strike. The original tower was higher, and had machicolations (an additional defensive mechanism, from which stones and boiling liquids could be dropped on attackers via openings in the floor) on its top. According to legend, this impressive structure was used as a model for the construction of the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.