The Castle
LOcation
The structure is currently divided into four independent apartments that are spread over five levels. Internally are located 14 rooms plus 4 kitchens and 7 bathrooms for a total cadastral area of 922 square meters .
The external structure, masonry, and roofs are in excellent condition. The interior is totally in need of renovation.
Beyond the entrance gate opens a beautiful park of more than 2,000 square meters fully fenced and shaded by mature trees. At the back of the building, from the well courtyard, rising gently to the ancient southern bastion of the Old Fortress, the picturesque and charming 1,500 sq. m. indoor garden.
On the third floor there are two large terraces: a 23-square-meter terrace facing east on the walls of the Rocca Malatestiana, and the main 100-square-meter terrace overlooking the city down to the sea.
A unique property in an extraordinary location. Versatile spaces, suitable for different projects: an exclusive private residence, a hotel or a luxury clinic, a representative office. Whatever their destination, these environments will always tell the charm and magic of a unique and timeless place.
Historical Planimetry Amilcare Zavatti
The Castle
HISTORY.
On the top of Mount Garampo, not far from the site of the ancient Roman castrum, a defensive fortress was built in the 12th century.
In 1177 Federico Barbarossa stayed there and arranged the construction of the imposing tower, still visible, where his wife Beatrice lived for three years.
In 1241, Emperor Frederick II, who opposed the pope and his supporters, also arrived in Cesena. He had portions of the building demolished to strengthen it and improve its defensive capabilities.
The fortress was destroyed and rebuilt several times during the clashes between Guelphs and Ghibellines until, at the end of the 13th century, Guido I° da Montefeltro temporarily drove the Malatesta family out of Cesena. After being appointed “captain of the people”, he had the building entirely restored.
In 1377 the fortress was conquered by the mercenary militia of Bretons fighting for the cause of the Papal States against the Republic of Florence. Cesena, writings of the time report, was razed to the ground. In 1380, the Malatesta, led by Galetto Malatesta, regained control of the city and began, to the northwest, the building of the new fortress.
No longer useful as a defensive building, in 1606 the fortress, called the Rocca Vecchia, was granted for use to the order of the Minim Friars of St. Francis of Paola, the so-called Paolotti, who, in 1625, began the construction of their convent where they remained until the arrival of French troops in February 1779.
That same year, Napoleon ordered that the convent be dismantled and the building converted to a prison facility, like other public buildings in the city, including the 15th-century fortress.
In May 1799, the French were driven out of Cesena by Austrian imperial troops that were allied with the Pope. The forty-three detainees in the Old Fortress were released and in their place were imprisoned those who had supported the French government.
In January 1801, the French regained control of the city and possession of the prison on Mount Garampo. The Paolotti’s church was immediately destroyed. Only with their final withdrawal from Cesena (and Italy), the Rocca Vecchia return to the people and the city. Papal cadastre maps from the mid-nineteenth century document the survival only of the Frederician tower and bastion walls. The present building, which is built around the ancient tower, was the headquarters of the German command during World War II and, the story goes, even managed to withstand Allied cannon fire.
Its eclectic current appearance is the result of the love and resources lavished on this special place by its owner after World War II.
