A holiday in the ancient hunting lodge of the Duke of Montefeltro, completely built in stone with a watchtower. Here you will find 12 rooms and an apartment in the attic, with antique Italian, French and German furniture, where you can stay with half-board service. Immersed in the Umbrian countryside, on a country estate with farm and wildlife, it has paths for walking and trekking.
Castello di Magrano History
The Castle of Magrano rises in the quiet of the green Umbrian landscapes, at the gates of Gubbio, immersed in a large park that is an agricultural and agro-forest farm. It is not difficult to sight fallow deer, roe deer, hares, wild boars, pheasants and all kinds of animals typical of the area.
The history of Magrano dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was the fulcrum of the defense of the Municipality of Gubbio against Perugia. In 1391 Melchiorre Montaiti, lord of Magrano, dared to rebel against Count Antonio da Montefeltro, lord of Urbino and Gubbio: Magrano then suffered a severe retaliation with the destruction of his mill (later rebuilt and still exists) but the foot soldiers of Montefeltro failed to conquer the castle. In 1431 Magrano passed under the jurisdiction of the dukes of Montefeltro. Federico da Montefeltro (1422-1482) made it his favorite hunting residence; it is said that the Duke launched himself in the hunt for fallow deer and wild boars that still live in the property; this inevitably ended with a lavish banquet in which they appreciated the most precious fruits of this land including, in particular, the truffle.
From 1508 it became the property of Francesca Bartolini of the Counts of Biscina who had married in 1526 Giovanni Maria I Della Porta, noble of Modena, podestà of Massa Trabaria (1519) and ambassador of Francesco Maria I della Rovere. In 1530 Giovanni Maria I obtained the investiture of the duchy of Frontone, a castle near Cagli, which he had bought a few years earlier from the Duke of Urbino, who needed large sums of money for the reconquest of his State occupied by Lorenzo de 'Medici .
After the death of Giovanni Maria I, Magrano passed to the heir Giulio I Della Porta (Rome 1530 -Gubbio 1591), butler of Francesco Maria II della Rovere (1549-1631) and husband of Francesca di Carpegna and, from this, to his son Francesco Della Porta (1578-1654). Unfortunately the death of Julius II (1599-1652), the eldest son of Francesco Della Porta, two years before his father, changed the hereditary axis, so that Magrano passed to the counts of Carpegna, relatives of the eugubinian bishops Pietro (1628-30) and Ulderico (1630-38); the latter had happened to his brother and established the court of the Inquisition in Gubbio.
Pietro di Carpegna held the position of prefect of Norcia in 1621; Ulderico, son of Count Tommaso and Vittoria Landriani, became a cardinal in 1634 and held the diocese of Todi (1638-43), Albano (1666), Frascati (1671), Palestrina, Sabina and Porto. He died at the age of 84 in 1679. Francesco Maria di Carpegna, brother of the two prelates, patron of the arts, in the two months of May-June 1630, was elected to Todi Priore del Popolo.
Meanwhile, at the end of the seventeenth century, the castle underwent some restoration work. It is probable that the Carpegna family relied on the eugubino master builder Carlo Perugini (Gubbio 1640-Fano 1707) assisted by the stonemason Biagio Vantaggi (1639-1713) as the two artisans were working at that time for the family, building the magnificent building in village of Carpegna. The Advantages, in fact, provided the squared stones for the pillars, the arches of the basements, the jambs of all the external and internal doors, the window frames, the external clogs, the bosses of the edges and of the portal.
In a survey made in the castle of Magrano by the writer, we can admire several frames on the internal doors of the seventeenth century that could support this hypothesis.
In 1751 Count Antonio di Carpegna Gabrielli (1720-1800), lord of Magrano, son of Mario Gabrielli of Rome and Maria Laura of Carpegna, asked the bishop of Gubbio Monsignor Giacomo Cingari (1747-68) permission to build a church dedicated to St. Philip Neri, in the parish of Sant'Angelo di Carbonesca. Count Antonio took the surname from his grandfather Francesco Maria di Carpegna who with the testament of September 25, 1747 had appointed him as universal heir. In 1761 he asked for the renewal of the hunting and fishing bandit for the castle of Magrano that hosted during the hunting season the exponents of the Roman nobility and Eugubina for amusing jokes.
From the Carpegna Gabrielli whose last descendant Placido Gabrielli (1832-1911) had married Augusta Bonaparte in 1856 (1836-1900), Magrano passed to the children of his sister Giulia Bonaparte (1830-1900) married in 1847 with Alessandro del Gallo di Roccagiovine (1826 -1892).
The Del Gallo family, a native of Rieti, had purchased the Marquisate of Roccagiovine on 12 February 1824 and had increased their possessions for the marriage of the Marchesa Costanza Del Gallo di Roccagiovine with Ugolino III Barnabò (1810-1890) of Foligno who named her heirs of the testamentary.
In January 1878 the mayor of Gubbio, Angelico Fabbri (1822-1886), together with the councilors Gabriele Stirati and Luciano Del Gallo di Roccagiovine (1853-1917), represented the town hall and the congregation of Charity at the funeral ceremony of King Vittorio Emanuele II. Luciano di Roccagiovine, married in 1897 with Valeria von Wagner (Stuttgart 1870-Rome 1943), was an extroverted, multifaceted character frequenting the salons of Perugia.
In 1879, during the XII Italian Alpine Congress of Perugia, he led some participants on Mount Cucco, calendering them in the famous cave with ropes and pulleys. On September 15, 1898, while he was passing through San Pietro gate in Perugia with his horse-drawn carriage, he lost a wheel and the frightened horse dragged the Marquis for a long galloping gallop, until he was stopped by a municipal guard. The following year on the thoroughbred "Massaua" the marquis won a gentleman riders race and a steeple-chase test on obstacles, beating count Tiberio Rossi-Scotti.
For the marriage of a woman Zenaide di Roccagiovine (Rome 1902-San Paolo, Brazil, 1988) and Francesco Giunta (San Pietro a Sieve 1887-Rome 1971), the castle passed to her son Luciano Filippo Giunta married to Maria Adele Tremi.
The building, at the center of a vast agricultural estate and a pristine hunting reserve, has been repeatedly enlarged and adapted according to the housing needs of the various eras. Today it presents itself as a massive and superb residential building immersed in a luxuriant park, on which stands a massive covered square tower, from which it dominates the path that in ancient times, crossing the Chiascio, led to Perugia.
Today the whole property is managed by Dr. Remo Luciano Giunta di Fiume who, after the latest seismic events, has restored the castle with great capacity respecting its centuries-old history.
Inside, occupied by some elegant halls, three large fireplaces stand out, one of the early 1600s and the other two from a later period. The first door engraved on the architrave the name of Cola di Colano Bartoni and could come from the home of Cola Bartoni (1584-1651) of San Pellegrino, son of Cola, and made by Lucesole, master stonemasons of the castle of San Pellegrino. The other two, one of which of great grandeur and excellent workmanship, bearing the Marioni coat of arms, were made for Abbot Lattanzio Marioni and from this passed to Carpegna.
Today the castle looks like a superb and imposing residential building on which stands a massive square tower, from which it dominates the path that once led to Perugia. Inside, among the elegant halls, three magnificent fireplaces stand out, one dating back to the 1600s and the other two from a later period. At Castello di Magrano guests can choose between 12 rooms, divided between the main building and the guesthouse, and an apartment housed in the attic consisting of two bedrooms and a kitchenette.
The tasteful furnishings feature Italian, French and German period furniture. The hospitality includes the half board and light lunch service, but for groups of at least 10 people it is possible to use the service of the cook and waiter at tables for dinners. The menu reserved for groups is still the same as when the Duke of Urbino hunted deer and wild boar in the castle estate, with game and truffles
There is also a pool table, several corners dedicated to reading, a dining room a lounge, a swimming pool with showers and dressing room, TV and free Wi-Fi throughout the complex.
Among the services available on request you can choose between cooking classes and tasting with the presence of professional sommeliers, courses of gilding, decoration and small restoration.
The landscape as well as delighting the eye, also offers numerous opportunities for recreation: lovers of walking and birdwatching and trekking will find various routes, as well as excursions to the nearby Monte Cucco Park, picking mushrooms or, in the right season , looking for the precious truffles of Umbria.
A holiday in these lands can not end without a visit to its art treasures: Gubbio is only 15 minutes by car and about an hour's drive you can reach other famous cities such as Assisi, Perugia, Nocera Umbra, Umbertide and Gualdo Tadino.