Location: Prato, Tuscany Map
Construction: 1240 by Holy Roman emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen
Emperor's Castle that is also known as a fortress of Saint Barbara is situated in Prato, Tuscany province of Italy. It was constructed in 1240 by Holy Roman emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen of Swabia . Thus this explains its name. During medieval times it held the headquarters of the Imperial party and seat of the Imperial Viceroy of Tuscany. Emperor's Castle has an outline of a perfect square with four towers defending its four corners, while another four are situated along its defensive walls. Construction of the Emperor's Castle stopped around 1250 after the old Emperor has died so technically it was not complete. Nevertheless despite centuries of warfare and neglect it is in great condition. Some of the buildings inside the courtyard were demolished, but otherwise it is near original condition.
The fort of the Alberti di Prato once stood on the place where
the present castle is located, which was almost completely razed
to the ground in 1107 during the siege of the troops of Matilde
di Canossa; in its place another building, called "Palazzolo",
was rebuilt to house the nuncios of the emperors Arrigo VI of
Svevia and Otto IV of Brunswick (of which two towers remain,
those without battlements, which until 1767-68 had about the
double the current height); the area affected by the castle has
always been strategic, so much so that there are documents
dating back to 1035 which testify to the presence of an older
"palatium"; this building was the nucleus of Castrum Prati, the
village that stood upstream of the building which also possessed
an ancient parish church (Santa Maria in Castello, which no
longer exists).
The commission for the construction was
given by Frederick II to Riccardo da Lentini, probably starting
from 1240. The castle, originally tangent to the second wall
(XII century), was partially surrounded by a moat and connected
to the Albertian prisons from which definition " of the prisons
"the nearby Marian shrine took its name. It has eight towers and
has inherent, as for the Castel del Monte, various symbolic
aspects, both in the structure and in the portal. Once
completed, it was to be used as an important garrison of the
empire, testifying to the emperor's presence on the possessions
in the north.
However, its construction was interrupted
around 1250, due to the premature death of the emperor, and the
unfinished structure was later used for many other purposes.
During the fourteenth century, under the Florentine dominion,
the castle was connected to the third circle of walls by a
covered corridor called "Corridore del Cassero" (ie: corridor of
the castle) or more simply Cassero. In this way the Florentine
troops could safely enter the city from outside the walls using
a protected passage.
Over the centuries some houses were
built in and around the structure. In the thirties, under the
Fascist government, all the houses were demolished and the
castle took on its present appearance, which practically
consists only of the external walls. The simultaneous opening of
viale Piave also involved the demolition of a large part of the
Cassero structure, of which two sections remain.
Also
interesting, on the back of the same castle, are the remains of
the hospital and the corresponding church of San Giovanni
Gerosolimitano (or of the knights of Malta), built extra moenia
in the mid-twelfth century and currently abandoned, but which
still retains small and rare traces anthropomorphic terracotta
from the Romanesque period.
In 1944 the castle was used
by the fascists to lock up the hundreds of Prato arrested for
the strike in March.
Also in 1944, between 6 and 7
September, after the occupation of the city by the partisans,
there was a round-up around the city, where fascists were
captured and presumed as such, and once taken to the castle,
they were shot. The event is remembered as the massacre of the
Emperor's Castle.
After the restoration in the 1970s, the
castle was opened to the public and can be visited. It is
possible to climb through the ancient spiral stairs inside the
corner towers and access the patrol walkway to enjoy the
beautiful panorama of the city of Prato. The castle is also used
by the municipality as a place for cultural events, such as
shows, concerts or the so-called "Cinema under the stars", or a
place for film screenings in the summer, organized by Terminale
Cinema - Casa Del Cinema di Prato.