Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May a Land of the Sun, the fortified village, once a Medici fortress town and today an integral part of the municipality of Castrocaro Terme and Terra del Sole, located less than 10 km from Forli.
On the occasion of the 460th anniversary of the founding of the fortress-city and the 450th anniversary of the death of Grand Duke Cosimo I de Medici, who conceived it, the Emilia Romagna section of the Italian Castles Institute will open the bastion of Santa Maria, which belongs to the municipality, to the public for the first time.
Saturday afternoon offers a cultural programme that includes a lecture at Terra del Sole's Palazzo Pretorio, followed by the presentation to the public of the Institute's 2023 dissertation winner dedicated to the bastion of Santa Maria. This will be followed by an aperitif in the Artillery Captain's Castle Garden and a concert of symphonic music in the parish church of Terra del Sole.
SundayVolunteers from the Emilia Romagna section will accompany visitors on a tour of the fortification, showing how the defence system works and recounting the history of the bastion that was the subject of their theses that won the national prize for degree theses in architecture and restoration promoted by the Institute. The visits will be coordinated by local guides.
In addition, on the occasion of the National Castles Days, volunteers from the Italian Castles Institute will invite the public to independently explore cultural and scenic sites in the surrounding area, including Castrocaro Terme and Montepoggiolo with its fortress.
