Description of the attraction
Rocca Aldobrandesca, also known as Rocca Spagnola, is a fortress in Porto Ercole, formerly one of the bastions of the defense system of the Cape of Monte Argentario. Earlier, on the place where the fortress stands today, there was a small chapel of San Giovanni Evangelista, the first mention of which is found in 1074. Then, by order of Countess Margarita Aldobrandeschi, a square tower was built here, which became the nucleus of the future fortress. Later, the tower became the property of the Orsini family of Pitigliano, who brought the construction of fortifications to their logical conclusion. After the conquest of Porto Ercole by the Sienese in the 15th century, the artist Lorenzo di Pietro, known as Vecchietta, was brought in to restore and expand Rocca Aldobrandesca. He added two round towers to the fort, giving it the shape of a triangle, and a wall extending from these towers to the sea. And in 1487, the military engineer Francesco di Giorgio Martini improved the design of Vecchietta, making a Byzantine tower on the shore part of the fortress - he connected it with Rocca using a covered walkway.
The following modifications in Rocca Aldobrandesca took place in the middle of the 16th century: the defensive wall of the fortress was fortified, and powerful bastions were added to the fortress itself and earthen ramparts were erected. In the same years, the chapel of San Giovanni was built - a real little gem of Renaissance architecture. From the fortress, by means of light signals, communication was made with the fort of Sant Ippolito in the west and the fort of della Galera in the north, and with the Palazzo dei Governanti it was possible to communicate through underground tunnels.
After the unification of Italy, Rocca Aldobrandesca began to gradually lose its defensive functions. In 1862, a lighthouse was built on one of its corners, and at the end of the 19th century, the fortress was turned into a prison, where prisoners were kept during the First World War. After the Second World War, the fortress was closed and sold to private hands. The internal premises were adapted for living, and some of the premises became the property of the commune.
