|
 Casole
has always formed a bulwark for the Sienese in a border area
strenuously defended against the people of Volterra and
Florence owing to its strategical position in the upper Elsa
Valley, and it still has the air of a final outpost.
Romantic traces of fortifications emerge in several places,
and noble houses gradually adapted to the needs of man. One
example is the Romanesque convent of the Servites, right at
the entrance to the village, and another the 14th-century
palace of the old feudal lords of Casole, the Porrinas, who
were later ousted by the Sienese Republic. Most fascinating
of all is the splendid Collegiate Church of Santa Maria
Assunta, almost all in brickwork, consacrated in 1161 on the
remains of a previously existing building and continuously
transformed and touched-up ever since. In the interior,
amongst other important items, one can admire works by
Rutilio Manetti, Marco Romano and Gano da Siena. |
