The castle of Poppi

A small town located in the province of Arezzo, Poppi is a typical medieval village, considered one of the most beautiful of all our country. It dominates the entire Casentino valley, which can be particularly admired from its castle, the undisputed symbol of the town. The castle of the Guidi counts dates back to the thirteenth century and its pearls are represented by the well-stocked library, the sumptuous party room, the family chapel and the tower. Dante Alighieri also lived in the castle for a year following his exile from Florence and it is said that it was in the castle that he composed the thirty-third canto of hell. Legend linked to the castle tells that on nights of full moon the ghost of Matelda can be seen overlooking the castle window. Matelda was a beautiful woman given in marriage, by the will of her father, to an elderly noble of the village, but the young woman consoled herself with many young lovers, who in leaving the castle at night often ended up killed among the many pitfalls of the castle. For all this the villagers walled it up alive in the tower. On the plain below Campaldino in 1289 one of the bloodiest battles of the Middle Ages took place between Guelphs and Ghibellines.