The Story of the Castle

 

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The great story of the castle begins with Flaminia Goretti (descended from the Medici and the Strozzi) and the American from Minnesota, George Specht. Flaminia and George met during World War II when George came through Tuscany as Captain George Specht with the American army. The Contessa Corsini gave a luncheon for the American military to meet the Florentines and at the luncheon in the cortile of the Palazzo Corsini that still stands on the banks of the Arno in the center of the city, the Contessa put Captain George Specht next to her old friend, the lovely Flaminia. George and Flaminia fell in love. And after the war George came back and married Flaminia. Here is a photo of them at their wedding in the historic church of Santissimi Apostoli in Florence in 1946.

When George saw the castle in ruins and heard the tale of Flaminia’s family he said: “We must rebuild the castle.” Here is a photo of the castle before the restoration. And the second photo shows a view of the castle inside. As you can see, all the floors, all the interior is gone. Collapsed.

The huge walls are standing with nothing inside to hold it together. Fortunately, Flaminia’s father had installed an iron chain/bar to hold the walls together. You can see the two iron bars on the exterior. Otherwise, it would have fallen down. One thing to note as you look at the photo of the interior is that the old inner structure of the castle was perfectly clear when they began the restoration. The floors could be rebuilt following the structure of the remaining castle. But, George faced a huge task: how to build a modern, habitable castle residence inside of a one thousand year old castle. But he did it. And his stroke of genius was the design of a central core shaft that would run down the center of the castle tower, totally independent and never touching the ancient walls that had to be preserved, a core shaft that would contain water, electricity, and an elevator. That was what changed the whole project. With an elevator, the ancient tower became a modern residence.

And so for the next twenty years, the restoration of the castle became their life, their passion, their every waking moment. Everything that they had, every resource they could find, went into the reconstruction of this great tower. Flaminia sold property; they borrowed; they saved. It became their one goal: saving the castle. George, Flaminia and little Martha. They worked for twenty years. Finally in 1973 it was done. They could move in. And then one day, George died suddenly of a heart attack. His work was done.

Together the family had created one of the premier attractions of this part of the Casentino, and a spectacular, seven-story habitation that has been standing in this high vantage point of the valley for almost a thousand years. That little arch on the left side of the castle, was a little niche with an altar. During one period of the castle’s history, there was a projecting balcony running around the castle at about the fourth story, permitting the counts and their families to enjoy the outdoors and the view, high up where they were safe. The little arched indentation would have been part of that structure. Now that is the door opening out from the kitchen. It is a little protected niche way high up, and in some years a mother owl has made it her nesting spot so then you have to be careful about opening the door so that you don’t disturb her nursery.
Here is Flaminia, as she presided over the newly restored Castello Porciano.

She was one of my greatest friends, and one of the most inspirational people I have ever known. It is due to her and her daughter Martha, that all the good things that have come to me here in Tuscany have become part of my life. I would never have known nor appreciated all the wonder and beauty of Tuscany if I had not come to know these great Italians. They became my Italian family and one of the best times ever was bringing my mother Florence (yes, her name was Florence!) here to the Castello Porciano, so that Florence and Flaminia could sit in the Great Hall of the castle and talk and talk and talk together and enjoy the magnificent space that Flaminia and George had created. Here is Flaminia below.

And here is a beautiful picture of Martha (the present Contessa) with Franchesco (Martha’s husband):

And a picture of Martha in the castle museum:

 

(Professor William Fredlund)