Visit Castello di Celsa
Walking in beauty: visits to the castle grounds
The Celsa Park: where the seasons speak
Walking in the park during the mild spring days, when the flowers bloom, or during the autumn days, when the ivy covering the Castle turns red, is a pleasure that remains imprinted in time.
Castello di Celsa is currently a private residence. The original core dates back to the 13th century as a defensive bulwark of the city of Siena. In the 16th century, the noble Sienese Celsi family commissioned the famous architect Baldassarre Peruzzi for its transformation into a villa. His intervention is evidenced by the circular-plan chapel, which has a clear Renaissance style, and by the retaining wall adorned with niches, which surrounds the imposing façade, parallel to the access avenue.
One of the distinctive elements of the Castle is its Italian garden (“giardino all’italiana”), situated in front of the main structure. It was designed in the 16th century and is currently characterized by flowerbeds with box hedges depicting stars and a rake, which represent the coat of arms of the Aldobrandini family. The garden is decorated with potted lemon trees, which give the ensemble a striking, theatrical effect.
The Italian Garden
One of the distinctive elements of the Castle is its Italian garden, in front of the main structure, designed in the 16th century.
The garden is accessed through a gate framed by pillars adorned with capitals and stone vases. This garden is delimited by two small 18th-century façades that hide, on one side, a dwelling and, on the other, a Limonaia (Lemon House), where, during the winter season, splendid lemon specimens find shelter.
The green area is characterized by boxwood flowerbeds with geometric shapes that represent the elements of the Aldobrandini family coat of arms. This coat of arms is composed of two stars and a rake. The current structure of the garden is the work of Luisa Aldobrandini, grandmother of the current owners and a passionate and expert gardener. Her intervention dates back to the 1950s, and restored the garden’s flowerbeds to their original formal imprint.
On the side opposite the entrance, there is a semicircular basin for collecting water, surrounded by a balustrade with small columns. From the garden opens a spectacular view over the city of Siena and Monte Amiata.
The Chapel
The Celsa Chapel is a 16th-century building, characterized by a circular shape. It is located at the foot of the highest tower of the Castle. Its design is attributed to the Architect Baldassarre Peruzzi, as part of the transformation of the fortress into a stately villa, which occurred in the sixteenth century. The restoration carried out in the 2000s by the Architect Giancarlo Pediconi and his wife Livia Aldobrandini, brought the original colors back to light.
Il Rocco
On the north-east side of the Castle opens a vast lawn, crossed by an avenue of cypress hedges. These hedges are shaped like undulating parapets, which lead to a large crescent-shaped fish pond.
The fish pond is characterized, on the curved side, by a curtain wall, marked by balustrades with small columns alternating with vases. These also mark the meeting of the volutes. Beneath the volutes, on a background of spongy stone, relief statues of marine deities and dragons are placed.
Behind the fish pond is a wild holm oak wood, from which a wooded garden starts, probably designed by the De Vecchi family in the 17th century. In the area behind the holm oak wood, radial avenues branch off from the fish pond and reconnect through two other concentric paths.
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The History
A centuries-old history
