Travel Photography > Photos tagged as gradara
Gradara is a typical medieval village, placed on a hilltop overlooking the Flaminia way and enjoying a beautiful landscape. The town is surrounded by trapezoidal fourteenth-century walls crowned by merlons and provided with rectangular bastions.
A further curtain of walls placed in between, the towers and an independent gate ensured a further defence to the fortress.
The only entrance to the tower was through the Porta dell'Orologio, an arch supporting a square tower (on whose walls hanged the coat-of-arms of the Montefeltros, the Sforzas and the Malatestas) provided by a draw-bridge.
Situated at 142 metres above sea level, with the Republic of San Marino, Rimini and Carpegna in the background, Gradara represents an extraordinary urban and architectural combination.
Legend has it that the castle was the scene of the famous and tragic love story of Paolo and Francesca, caught in each other's arms and killed by Gianciotto, Francesca's husband. This love story was immortalized by Dante in his Divine Comedy.
The whole perimeter of the walls were run by communication trenches. At the western corner the town wall was reinforced by a stout poligonal bastion, the rocchetta.