This week, given the time of year, we have been talking about the spookier side of Tuscany. While Autumn is a wonderful time to plan a trip to Tuscany, as the seasonal foods, beautifully colourful landscape, and smaller crowds are all enticing, there is also a rich history that has resulted in a rather large ghost population that makes it all the more intriguing as an October holiday destination. Read on to learn more about Tuscany's spookiest spots...if you dare.
3. Poppi Castle's Ghastly Tales of Murder And Ghosts
Poppi Castle is a beautiful building located in Casentino, a valley famous for nature, art and history, and food and wine tourism, but underneath the charming exterior is a bloody history.
3. Poppi Castle's Ghastly Tales of Murder And Ghosts
Poppi Castle is a beautiful building located in Casentino, a valley famous for nature, art and history, and food and wine tourism, but underneath the charming exterior is a bloody history.
One of the previous residents, and the most infamous, was a young woman named Matilda, who was most beautiful woman in the area at the time and was forced into a marriage with an old and powerful man from the Guidi family, the ruling family at the time. Matilda, greatly displeased at this turn of events and jealous of the freedom that the common people had, began sending for eligible young bachelors, under the guise of having them do repairs or entertain her. She would then choose one of these men to come to her chamber and then the next day she would dispose of the evidence of her indiscretions by pushing them through a trapdoor into a hole filled with razor blades and broken glass.
Eventually, the number of missing young men began to be noticed and the townspeople stormed the castle, trapping Matilda in a tower of the castle, bricking up the door, and leaving her to starve to death. As you can imagine, tales of hauntings abound and for those interested in the horrific and ghoulish things in life, finding a vacation rental in Casentino and coming to explore this fascinating gem is a must.
Eventually, the number of missing young men began to be noticed and the townspeople stormed the castle, trapping Matilda in a tower of the castle, bricking up the door, and leaving her to starve to death. As you can imagine, tales of hauntings abound and for those interested in the horrific and ghoulish things in life, finding a vacation rental in Casentino and coming to explore this fascinating gem is a must.
4. The Ghost of Palazzo Vecchio
There are lots of reasons to find a luxury villa in Florence and spend time in this wonderful city. One spooky reason is the ghost that haunts Palazzo Vecchio. It is said that there are actually many ghosts in the Palazzo Vecchio, but the most famous is that of Baldaccio d’Anghiari, a medieval nobleman and brave warrior who was betrayed, wrongly accused of treason and killed inside the Palazzo Vecchio in 1441. Since then, he has haunted this building in Florence, appearing as an irate man, and has been spotted many times. The most famous sighting of Baldaccio happened in 2001 when a young couple taking photos outside the Palazzo Vecchio noticed the translucent face of an angry, ghostly man staring out the window of the building. Experts declared it to be genuine but debate around what kind of effect might have caused it or if it was actually a ghost continues...
There are even more fascinating and spooky spots to be explored around Tuscany so be sure to continue on to the rest of this series...
There are lots of reasons to find a luxury villa in Florence and spend time in this wonderful city. One spooky reason is the ghost that haunts Palazzo Vecchio. It is said that there are actually many ghosts in the Palazzo Vecchio, but the most famous is that of Baldaccio d’Anghiari, a medieval nobleman and brave warrior who was betrayed, wrongly accused of treason and killed inside the Palazzo Vecchio in 1441. Since then, he has haunted this building in Florence, appearing as an irate man, and has been spotted many times. The most famous sighting of Baldaccio happened in 2001 when a young couple taking photos outside the Palazzo Vecchio noticed the translucent face of an angry, ghostly man staring out the window of the building. Experts declared it to be genuine but debate around what kind of effect might have caused it or if it was actually a ghost continues...
There are even more fascinating and spooky spots to be explored around Tuscany so be sure to continue on to the rest of this series...
