Carbonana Castle, Medieval castle in Gubbio, Italy.
Carbonana Castle is a medieval fortress on a promontory above State Road 219 between Gubbio and Umbertide. Its walls enclose a bailey with a round tower at the south-east corner, added by the Porcelli counts, and a decorated chapel. The south side was enlarged in the 16th–17th centuries; otherwise the castle retains its original proportions.
The castle is first documented in 1192, when Pope Celestine III confirmed its possession to Bishop Bentivoglio of Gubbio. Its first lords were the descendants of Bino di Pietro Gabrielli, brother of Cante Gabrielli, the podestà of Florence who condemned Dante in 1302. In the 1420s it passed through marriage to the Porcelli, later counts of Carbonana, who enlarged the south side and built the round south-east tower.
The Porcelli, counts of Carbonana, took their name from Rigo campsor olim de Florentia, a Florentine money changer documented in Gubbio from 1286. Between the 16th and 17th centuries family members held the highest offices in Gubbio and served as mercenaries for the Republic of Venice. They financed the chapel decoration, the south enlargement and the round tower.
Carbonana Castle stands on a promontory above State Road 219 between Gubbio and Umbertide, so it is seen from the road rather than entered from it. The building is privately owned; it was bought in 2011 by two Canadian citizens and fully restored in 2014 under the supervision of the Umbrian Soprintendenza.
The Porcelli counts of Carbonana descended from Rigo campsor olim de Florentia, a money changer recorded in Florence and documented in Gubbio from 1286. In the 16th and 17th centuries family members held the highest offices in Gubbio and served as mercenaries for the Republic of Venice. The round tower at the south-east corner of the walls is their work.
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