Santa Severa Castle

From the Via Aurelia, Km 52.500 to, along a picturesque tree-lined street in the direction of the sea, we arrive at Santa Severa Castle.

The center, remembered the name of greek Pyrgoi “Towers” is defined by the ancient literature as a ‘haven’ of Caesar, as a ‘city’ and as ‘metropolis’ of the Tyrrhenian pirates from later commentators of Virgil’s Aeneid.

The whole village is surrounded by a turreted walls, probably of medieval times. At the end of the avenue leading to the castle, in north-eastern side, under the tower of the Gate, opens the arc, in blocks of travertine stone topped by coats of arms in the middle of Urban VIII and Cardinal Francesco Barberini nephews left and Taddeo Barberini, prefect of Rome to the right, which leads to the courtyard of the Guard.

In the courtyard, to the left is a small house with the crest of the Commander Guidiccioni, perhaps dating back to the sixteenth century, called the Doll House.

To the left of the house opens the gate leading to the courtyard of trotters, to find the right house and the house of the Donkeys Horse, a short staircase leads to the Mason House. Still on the right an arc topped by a small kiosk and flanked by two battlements, built in 1696 during the visit of Pope Innocent XII, provides access to the Castle Street. Continuing on the right is a large entrance hall from which you enter the courtyard of Barrozze. Along the Via del Castello, on the right, there is the House of the Ovens, the Alley of the Kiss, on the left a large garden with palm trees.

The street ends with another arch surmounted by five battlements adorned by the crest of the Commander Racagni, maybe it was on the left hand side an inscription in memory of the visit of Pope Urban VIII and is situated in a small fountain made ​​from a slit in form of a double cross, the emblem of St. Spirit.

In the courtyard, called the Castle, or parade ground overlooking a few houses are visible and a part of the south side of the castle with one of the two round towers and the Saracen tower, tall cylindrical male built in the twelfth century with the function of warning and control of the Saracen invasions.

On the left side, a stone staircase descends to the base of the tower and then to the sea. Deep in the castle courtyard you can see a local told The Woodshed in which there is now the only part of the wall visible polygon in the third century. B.C. closed the side facing the Sea Roman fort.

Outside the village, you see the soni Fontanile of 1791, built on behalf of Francis Albizi, some basics of presses from the Roman and the walls of the Roman fort.