Rocca di Albornoz, Medieval fortress in Narni, Italy
Rocca di Albornoz is a quadrangular stone fortress on the hill above Narni, built from 1367 for Cardinal Egidio Albornoz and attributed to architect Matteo Gattaponi. Its four corner towers project beyond the outer wall, and the tallest, the Maschio, is the only one visible from the inner courtyard. The sides measure about 36 metres, the Maschio about 12, and a double wall and moat completed the defences.
Cardinal Egidio Albornoz ordered the fortress built in 1367 on the site of a former Clarisse convent, which itself stood where Frederick Barbarossa had earlier placed a military settlement. Work finished in 1378, and Cardinal Philippe d'Alençon attended the inauguration. In 1527 Landsknechts and Terni militias damaged it after the Sack of Rome, but it held. The comune of Narni and the Province of Terni later bought and restored it.
The fortress takes its name from Cardinal Egidio Albornoz, who ordered it built in 1367 as part of a chain of fortresses securing papal control of central Italy after the Avignon exile. The inner courtyard's two Gothic porticoes date to his successor, Cardinal Philippe d'Alençon, who preferred a more ornamental style than Albornoz's functional one.
Reaching the fortress requires climbing a hill, so wear comfortable shoes as the paths are steep and uneven. Plan time to explore both the fort and the museum inside to get the full experience of the site.
The Maschio, the tallest tower, was originally cut off from the rest of the fortress and reached only by a drawbridge; it held its own water reserve beneath the terrace for use in a siege. Its internal stairs are extremely narrow, letting defenders face one attacker at a time in single file.
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