Tuscan · 2026

“Castello di Poppi”

The Castle of the Counts Guidi at Poppi, rising over the Casentino — its battlemented tower standing above the ochre rooftops of the old town.

Details

TitleCastello di Poppi

PlacePoppi, Casentino, Tuscany

Year2026

CategoryTuscan

Dimensions14.8 × 21 cm (A5)

TechniqueInk and Watercolor on Clairefontaine paper

Palette of the work

Request information

This piece is part of my collection. Originals will soon be available to buy online — write to me in the meantime.

The subject

The Castle of the Counts Guidi

Poppi rises over the Casentino with one of the most perfect castles in Tuscany — the Castello dei Conti Guidi — its battlemented tower visible for miles across the valley floor.

The Guidi counts ruled the Casentino from this hill, and their castle, begun in the thirteenth century, is so like the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence that it is often credited to the same circle. Dante knew it in his exile; the battle of Campaldino (1289), in which he fought, was decided on the plain below.

I drew it rising above the ochre rooftops of the town, the tall tower and its crown of battlements set against the sky.

Colour here is all warmth — the stone, the roofs, the hill.

Town: Poppi, Casentino
Family: the Conti Guidi
Begun: 13th c.
Echoes: the Palazzo Vecchio
Nearby: Campaldino (1289)

The Castello dei Conti Guidi at Poppi, with its tall tower — The castle of the Conti Guidi at Poppi — tower and battlements against the sky.Photo: LigaDue — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The castle of Poppi on its wooded hill with cypresses — Poppi’s castle on its hill — the silhouette seen for miles across the Casentino.Photo: Albarubescens — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A castle so shapely it looks drawn rather than built — I only had to follow its lines.

Ink for the tower, the battlements and the arcades; warm washes for the stone and the little town gathered at its foot.

Of all the Casentino, this is the silhouette you remember — upright, elegant, unmistakable.

See also · Tuscan Fortezza di Montalcino · Anghiari · Torre di Montecchio, Valdichiana