Tuscany’s mesmerizing Moorish-inspired castle, Sammezzano, took the number one spot in the Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano’s annual “Luoghi del Cuore” competition.
FAI, an organization dedicated to the protection of cultural heritage, calls on the Italian public to vote for its favorite “Luoghi del Cuore” each year—monuments that have been abandoned, damaged or are otherwise in need of restoration and recovery. Winning projects are sponsored by the Banca Intesa Sanpaolo. Sammezzano Castle and the surrounding 190-acre estate earned 50,141 votes, with the Santa Croce complex in Bosco Marengo (Alessandria) coming in second place at 47,319.
The Sammezzano castle was once the property and dream mansion of 19th-century nobleman Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes d’Aragona, an architect, botanist and member of Italian parliament from 1864 to 1867. Its striking colors and ornate architecture recall Moorish monuments such as the Alhambra and the Taj Mahal. Now privately owned, it was once slated to become a luxury hotel but has since fallen into a state of abandon, only opening to the public on rare occasions.