Palombarone

Il Palombarone is the titular appellation of an interesting 16th century construction located in Castelfidardo, the Marches in Central Italy. The building's origins are somewhat obscure and a brief description follows.

tructure

The building is essentially built into three principal sections - a central portion which is undoubtedly the oldest part of the structure as well as an east and west wing which reach only two storeys in height, while the central portion is composed of four storeys. Thus in essence the building is a central tower with lower wings either side.

History

To the best of common knowledge the building now dubbed the 'Palombarone' was originally erected in 1580 as a primary residence for the local Archbishop, it was a property of the Roman Catholic Church. Interestingly enough it would have dominated the landscape for miles around due to its elevated position. Its nature as an ecclesiastical residence may be not entirely accurate due to the presence of small square slanted breaches which are scattered across the tower section of the building. The exact purpose of these holes is not known but two principal theories exist - they are either the holes through which small canons were used (thus making the Palombarone a small fort used to guard an ancient border between lands now forgotten, or more probably to protect against Turkish invasions of the 16th century - the Ottomans were at the gates of Vienna at this time) or the holes are actually small perches for carrier pigeons - who were used extensively at this time and a thriving local market in the bird existed in this period. Be that as it may the building is believed to have fallen into disrepair with the end of the Papal States in the 1860s - it was probably around this time that local families moved in and rented the properties surrounding this property (which to this day is used as vineyards). The farmer-occupiers of the property eventually left the property in the mid-1970s and the building was abandoned. Extensive renovations to the property occurred in 1896 (as a simple marble plaque states on the front of the building) and again most probably in the 1950s. In 2000 the property was bought by the great-granddaughter of a woman who was born in the building a century and half before; Mrs Renata Simonetti. She and her family have been renovating the dilapitated building since mid-2002 in an attempt to restore it to its former glory-years of the late 1500s.

Architecture

The building itself is in the 16th-century style of the local area - with masterful arches and a domed interior. The walls are extraordinarily thick (to keep the temperature inside cool in the summer and warm in winter).