Giglio Castello

Giglio Castello is the fraction of the cumune of the Island of Giglio and rises in the highest area of the island.
What fascinates tourists are the perfectly preserved walls and towers that completely enclose the village.
Of medieval origins, Giglio Castello is characterized by the imposing Rocca Aldobrandesca, in Piazza XVIII Novembre, an imposing defensive construction that makes this village a suggestive destination with a unique charm.

The Church of San Pietro, from the 15th century, is the main church of the Giglio, in which the treasure of Pope Innocent XIII is kept and it is possible to admire a magnificent ivory Crucifix, by Giambologna. Inside are also the venerated relics of San Mamiliano, protector of the Island and of the Tuscan Archipelago.

The Giglio is the land of the captains of the sea, artists and musicians. To get there in the summer, with the cool sound of the sandals. You can climb to the castle for the evening ritual of cellars, premises, restaurants, and when at last the night carries the silence, and even hawks and the ravens have left the sky, the sound of the sea back to be felt. The passing of the centuries in the flow of the water infinite have chased away the fear of Turks from the island: Saraceno and Barbarossa are only the name now, some local entertainment. Nevertheless, everything continues to be wonderfully changeable and indifferent, in the midst of this limpid sea.
By solid walls of granite of Giglio Castello, the eye ranges over the other lands emerged - Giannutri, the mysterious Montecristo, furthest Pianosa - while the former seafarers depict paintings naif with colorful sailboats. The Giglio actuate the winds, weather, the little land with its yields inconstant. Everyone who comes here remains charmed by a dark energy. Who goeth, has the suspected to have lost sight of it. Who gets back, has the relief to be able to finally release.
Everything changes: You do not build more dry walls, trellises, pots, and fishermen do not mend more their networks. Maybe not even the words know more of salt, from when sailing boats have lost their bright horizon. But the Lily is still there: still there the castle built by the Pisans in the XII century; still there the cellars where, between a chatter and the other, it offers to the loop a good glass of Ansonaco, fruit of the vineyards that are near the lighthouse or somewhere else; and still illuminate the illuminations for the feast of San Mamiliano, who in 1799 helped the population to dispel the Tunisian pirates.

Discover the other villages on the guide Tuscany - Unique Villages To Love