The town not there any more
On a hill overhanging the present town, in one of the most panoramic places of the whole Amerino, are still standing the ruins of the Old Town of Guardea. For what reason was it deserted by its inhabitants? In the 17th century the need of defence wasn't there any more. Hence the migration towards the more comfortable plateau below. The inhabitants took along with them also much of the building material with which had been built the
"castrum" 600 metres above sea level. Portals, stones, pavement slabs were dismantled and reused to built the present Guardea and other settlements as Cocciano.
The remains of the fortified town and its massive eight sighting towers, and the documents testify the existence of a wealthy palace, two churches, a few fountains and an ingenious system for collecting the rain-water.
The Poggio of kings and artists
On the other hilltop behind Guardea is the Castello del Poggio (11th cent.).
A defensive and residential system remained untouched throughout the time, always the abode of first-rate people as Cesare Borgia, the princess Olimpia Panphili, and the great American comedian Jimmy Savo. His wife in the sixties founded in the castle an Art Centre attended by among others, the Nobel Prize for Literature John Steinbeck.
Nowadays the castle has been well restored and is the Italian seat of the Club di Budapest, an important international organization dealing with the development of the social awareness.
The urban structure of the castle is made of various fortified enclosures, with little houses down below and the lords mansion overhanging them. A residence with an impressive keep and a particulariy elegant internal courtyard.
Every year a "Travertine week" takes place at the castle. During it famous
international artists realize sculptures in the local stone which are destined to adorn the charming places of Guardea.
