Castello Bufalini

Castello Bufalini is an unexpected, surprising gift for all who visit it. Initially a military fortress and only later converted into a stately home, it retains the original furnishings and, passing from room to room, it almost seems that someone still lives in it. Finely frescoed inside by Gherardi with an elaborate iconographic plan, the castle reserves delights also outside, surrounded by an extensive garden, full of trees and flowers, hedges that draw low labyrinths and a real labyrinth. Highly recommended visit, even better if guided, so as to enjoy the story of this extraordinary residence.

Nice castle. Well kept. Too bad we couldn't have walked around the labyrinth in the garden. Beautiful frescoes and paintings. The very suggestive period furniture

Visit of the castle and the very interesting garden. The volunteer who acts as a guide is prepared and very helpful. Very suggestive. The castle and the Italian garden are beautiful.

Visited today without reservation, ticket at the entrance ... visit accompanied by volunteers inside and in the castle garden which obviously has its maximum expression in bloom ... inside there are some rooms that leave you breathless ... seeing is believing! !

Really enjoyable guided tour of the castle, our guide was a very knowledgeable and knowledgeable lady. A really well kept castle, the rooms are perfectly preserved, even in the kitchens you can feel the atmosphere of the time!

The building was born as a military fortress of the Ghibelline family of the Dotti di Sansepolcro. Following the battle of Anghiari, in 1440, the fort became a military outpost to defend the territory of Città di Castello but was destroyed at the end of the 15th century by order of the Florentine Republic. It passed ownership, in 1487, to Niccolò di Manno Bufalini, reconstruction work was undertaken based on a project by the Roman architect Mariano Savelli and on the instructions of Giovanni and Camillo Vitelli, military men and experts in military architecture. These interventions gave the building the appearance of a fortress with an irregular square plan with four towers at the corners, one of which is larger, the main tower. In addition, a large moat with water surrounded it. The history of the building is inextricably linked to that of the Bufalini family, which boasted prominent figures in the ecclesiastical, literary and legal fields. Starting in the thirties of the sixteenth century, the fortress was transformed into a noble residence responding to specific artistic, social and cultural needs, according to the will of Julius I and his brother, Abbot Ventura Bufalini. Although it was the interior that underwent major changes, with the creation of large rooms distributed around a courtyard with two porticoed sides, the insertion of the loggia on the facade and the monumental entrance in a central position dates back to that period. From the outside, the original military structure of the building remained clearly visible. The design of the building was the work of the Florentine architect of the Sangallo circle Giovanni di Alesso, known as Nanni Unghero, but the works were completed with the intervention of Vignola around 1560. During the last decade of the seventeenth century and the early years of the eighteenth century , the building was renovated according to the project of the architect-painter from Tifernate Giovanni Ventura Borghesi, as a pleasant country villa with an Italian garden. The building was enriched in the eighteenth century with valuable works of art in the late Baroque style, including pictorial and decorative cycles on fresco and canvas, also aimed at celebrating the Bufalini who became marquises. During the visit you can admire: the Sala degli Dei Pagani and Sala di Prometeo with frescoes by Cristofano Gherardi; the Loggiato; the Sala della Credenza, with the display cases that house the precious ceramic tableware and glassware; the dining room; the Living Room: the Throne Room with paintings depicting scenes from the Old Testament and from the Orlando Furioso of Ariosto; the Portrait Gallery; the Sala degli Stucchi; the Chamber of Cardinal Giovanni Ottavio Bufalini, with the beautiful cradle. The Garden is a typical example of an Italian-style garden that today appears in the form desired in the eighteenth century: the rose garden, the vegetable gallery called barrel vault, the so-called "paradise" and the labyrinth stand out for their particular beauty.