In reality, the Monteriggioni Castle was raised by the Sienese in 1204 to guarantee control of an area where the castles of the countryside and the monks of Abbadia boasted too many prestese. The circle of walls surrounding the town was also commented by Dante and remains one of the few perfectly preserved examples of “walled land” in the Sienese territory.
The elliptical shape of the walls perfectly follows the perimeter of the small plateau, even adapting to the curves of the elevation level. A fortress with 14 towers that Dante serves to describe to his reader the horrible vision of the giants that emerge halfway from the infernal ground.
«però che, come in su la cerchia tonda Monteriggion di torri si corona, così la proda che ‘l pozzo circonda torregiavan di mezza la persona li orribili giganti, cui minaccia Giove del cielo ancora quando tona»
Dante, Divina Commedia, Inferno, Canto XXXI, v. 40-46
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