14 Comments
User's avatar
Susanna Ohtonen's avatar

Yes, Giomoci is a wonderful place! We were the fisrt couple to be married there back in 1991....time flies but the castles remain the same:) Thank you Mary Jane for this article!!

Expand full comment
Mary  Jane  Cryan's avatar

hope to see you upstairs in the Painted Palazzo this afternoon .... you have been very busy!!

Expand full comment
Mary  Jane  Cryan's avatar

Be sure you check out next article on castles …maybe I should do a series . Coming in to Rome Mon and Tues ,Looking for a new bookshop as distribuzione point since Anglo American closed . Any ideas accepted ….

Expand full comment
Mary  Jane  Cryan's avatar

More than involved —-with a few others Fulvio and I set it up here in Viterbo, and worked very hard organizing, writing Guides, showing hundreds around the special places open ed for the spring and fall open days, even took a bus load of viterbese to UK for 5 days visiting National Trust historic homes . It sort of dissolved when other hands took over …a shame…. now this year there is a friends castle open ( the fellow carrying the chair in the article} and a winery owned by Germans ..

Expand full comment
Mary  Jane  Cryan's avatar

Coming next week ,,,,castles part II…Day trip from Rome by car or train to a wonderful lakeside castle …can you Guess which one ?

Expand full comment
Mary  Jane  Cryan's avatar

Wow, just discovered that you can listen to the text…only problem is the proninciation of italian words ! Try it out

Expand full comment
Mary  Jane  Cryan's avatar

The name of the castle in Umbria, spelled Giomici, was where very good friends had their wedding ....

Expand full comment
Claudia Brose's avatar

I live in the very north of Italy - surrounded by castles. Apparently a region with the highest density of castles in Europe. Many beautifully restored/turned into hotels or event/wedding locations..... in case somebody is interested or if you want to put it on your list, Mary Jane.

Expand full comment
Mary  Jane  Cryan's avatar

Ciao Claudia, thanks for your msg. I have so many books on Trentino Alto Adige, Piemonte castles since my husband's family lived between Torino, Cuneo, Trieste, Istria,Padova.... if you have some specific ones send me links and we can promote them.

Expand full comment
Claudia Brose's avatar

Ciao Mary Jane

thanks for your reply. Here are a few links. The names are all German since this region is German speaking and kept its century old German culture.

This one is a family winery (Alois Lageder) with a 13th century palazzo and courtyard attached, which they use for events, esp. weddings. It's absolutely gorgeous. It's in Alto Adige, along the wine road.

https://en.paradeis-aloislageder.eu/events/paradeis-events

And this is a castle recently renovated...it's a hotel and also event/wedding location, near Bolzano

The smooth combination between "modern design" while respecting and keeping all historic elements and charme is so beautiful. Schloss Freudenstein.

https://schlossfreudenstein.com/en/

There is also Schloss Korb, near Bolzano https://www.schloss-hotel-korb.com/en

Expand full comment
Life Lived Italian's avatar

This is so funny-- we have a friend who owned an agriturismo in Marche and a guess asked him once: "Got any castles here?" Who knew that was a common question to ask? These are pretty amazing examples too. I didn't know you were involved with FAI. I've been very interested in that organization and was hoping to get involved with it somehow now that I'm living in Italy full-time. Should have known you'd be three steps ahead!

Expand full comment
Italy Writers's avatar

BTW - is your book on Amazon?

Expand full comment
Mary  Jane  Cryan's avatar

no i dont use amazon....I mail out copies to Italian addresses free of charge and with discounts for multiple copies , see www.elegantetruria.com Books page for reviews and just send me

Expand full comment
Italy Writers's avatar

My region is Abruzzo. We stayed a couple of nights in a local castle in Loreto but there was a wedding going on, so we really felt like gatecrashers! I'm not sure it is still open but it's an amazing venue

https://www.italyitalianweddings.com/portfolio-items/castle-chiola-near-pescara/

Expand full comment