paneretta-castle-chiantiThe imposing crenelated Castle of Paneretta rises among vineyards, on the hills sloping down towards Poggibonsi. The square plan of the building, its turreted corners and tall central tower, betray its origin as a Medieval fortification. It was subsequently transformed into a villa by the Capponi, who had inherited the castle as part of the dowry of Maddalena Vettori, last of her line, upon her marriage to Ludovico Capponi. The plaque in the courtyard states that the windows were enlarged and the doors decorated in 1595. It was at this time that the famous Florentine painter Bernardino Poccetti frescoed the courtyard’s loggia, painting the vaults with lively grotesques in late Mannerist taste. Ludovico Capponi also commissioned the building of the little chapel in the garden, which has a simple entrance crowned by a broken pediment. He also commissioned the huge cellars, still in use, whose doors bear the Capponi and the Vettori shields. The production of wine here is recorded as early as 1596. In the same period the castle was also a center of the arts and was visited by important artists and writers. The poet Girolamo Muzio stayed at Paneretta until his death and dedicated a poem to the villa.

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