Stronghold of Populonia, Medieval fortress in Populonia, Italy

The Stronghold of Populonia stands on the acropolis of the ancient Etruscan city of Pupluna, above the Gulf of Baratti. Its walls enclose a rectangular plan close to a square, with a walkway and corner sentry boxes. The central tower, the former keep, has a high battered base, irregular stonework except at the corners, a raised door and battlements with four merlons on the long sides and three on the short ones.

The fortress stands on the acropolis of the Etruscan Pupluna, abandoned for centuries before a medieval castle arose there in the 14th century. Its present form is transitional: the sides facing the cliffs have at most buttresses, while the road side received a semicircular keep with loopholes and Ghibelline merlons. The Appiani remodelled it at the end of the 15th century, adding the rectangular enceinte with corner bartizans and the later semicylindrical southwest wall.

The name Populonia derives from the Etruscan Pupluna, whose acropolis the fortress occupies. The merlons on the semicircular keep facing the road are Ghibelline, with a swallowtail profile a visitor can pick out against the sky. The double projection of the central tower, inward and outward, is rare in Tuscany and recalls the castles of the Scaligeri.

The fortress stands on the acropolis of ancient Pupluna, above the Gulf of Baratti and west of the Baratti and Populonia archaeological park. The climb is on foot from the village of Populonia, and the walls are joined to those of the borgo, so the walk continues along the ramparts. The south-west side has a higher walkway than the other sides.

The central keep has a double projection, jutting both inward and outward, a feature rare in Tuscany but common in Scaliger castles. Its battlements count four elements on the long sides and three on the short ones.