Batignano is a characteristic medieval village, still today you can admire the remains of the city walls, the keep, the towers, the doors and a three-arched loggia. Like many other fiefdoms in the area, it belonged to the Aldobrandeschi family.
The Walls of Batignano constitute the defensive system of the village, part of the municipality of Grosseto.
A first city wall was built in Batignano during the 12th century to defend the noble area located in the upper part of the town.
As time passed, the center increasingly expanded towards the concentric plateau located at a lower level than the pre-existing noble area; once this process was completed, there was the need to build a further defensive device that would protect the less ancient part.
The construction of the new walls, more external than the pre-existing ones, continued between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and, once completed, they took on a roughly elliptical perimeter.
In the following centuries, the Walls of Batignano followed the fate of the rest of the village, undergoing periods of decline followed by renovation and urban redevelopment works, which led, among other things, to incorporating some sections of curtain wall into the perimeter walls exteriors of residential buildings.
The Walls of Batignano can be divided into two distinct concentric circles, an older internal one and a relatively more modern external one.
The internal walls, trapezoidal in shape, have been almost incorporated into the external walls of the buildings located in the upper part of the centre, among which the ancient keep and a turreted building are recognisable.
The external wall, roughly elliptical in shape, entirely delimits the village, alternating some sections of curtain which have perfectly preserved the original medieval characteristics (western bank of the circle) with others which are incorporated into the external perimeter walls of some buildings.
Two doors open along the external wall (to the north-east and south-west), while a tower rises along the western bank.
In the spectacular scenery of the Grosseto countryside, nestled between gentle hills dotted with olive trees, the small village of Batignano suddenly appears to the gaze of those who travel, which blends perfectly with the environment in an example of absolute harmony. The castle owes its importance in the Middle Ages to the mines from which silver and lead were extracted, to be located in the area towards Montorsaio.
As if suspended in time, the urban nucleus, a handful of houses marked by narrow streets, small arches, churches, archaeological finds and small open spaces, is a paradise for those seeking a journey between tranquility and peace.
Translated by Google •
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