Castle of Sammezzano, Moorish castle in Reggello, Italy
The Castle of Sammezzano is a château in the hamlet of Leccio within the municipality of Reggello in Tuscany. The interior features halls with painted walls, stucco work, tiles, and mosaics in oriental forms and colors.
A large farm estate was built here in 1605 for the Ximenes d'Aragona family. Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes d'Aragona inherited it and, between 1853 and 1889, remodelled it into Italy's foremost example of Moorish Revival architecture, with the Entrance Hall (1853), Stalactite Corridor (1862), Ballroom (1867) and central tower dated 1889. King Umberto I visited in 1878.
The name Sammezzano is not explained by the sources; the estate passed through the Altoviti, the Medici and the Ximenes d'Aragona families. Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes d'Aragona, who remodelled it from 1853, hosted King Umberto I in 1878. The 365 rooms each carry a different Moorish Revival decoration, and the castle later served as a film set, from Pasolini's Il fiore delle Mille e una notte to the 2025 Sandokan series.
The site is located in Leccio and can be reached from the Incisa-Reggello exit on the A1 highway. Visits are currently possible only with advance booking through the FPXA association.
The surrounding park holds the largest collection of giant sequoias in Italy, planted in the mid-19th century. Some specimens reach over 35 meters (115 feet) in height and rank among the oldest of their kind in Europe.
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