Piccolomini Castle (Ortucchio)

Castello Piccolomini (Italian for Piccolomini Castle) is a Middle Ages castle in Ortucchio, Province of L'Aquila (Abruzzo).

The Piccolomini Castle originally stood on the island of Ortucchio by Lake Fucino. The structure was surrounded by a moat whose waters were connected to the lake. With the lake's drainage, this protection was lost.

The Renaissance-style structure was commissioned in 1488 by Antonio Todeschini Piccolomini following the destruction of a previous fortification by Napoleone Orsini.

Damaged by the 1915 Avezzano earthquake, the building was restored in the 1970s.

The castle has a rectangular plan with circular towers at the corners of the walls, with only the base remaining of the northwest tower.

The entrance portal to the castle is located on the wall facing the village, and above the portal is a plaque bearing the date of the Piccolomini reconstruction.

Inside the walls is the keep, the oldest structure of the castle, characterized by battlements around its perimeter.

Text adapted from “Castello Piccolomini (Ortucchio)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Piccolomini Castle (Ortucchio) ranks #5,797 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #385 of the 416 mapped in Italy. Founded 1488, it is older than 45% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 410 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. See how Italy compares in the castle statistics.

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