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The estate is situated on the north side of Montalcino and extends for 400 hectares, of which thirteen are cultivated as vineyards.
In the centre stands the castle, originally built in the thirteenth century by the Altesi family and completed in 1441 by the Tricerchi family. It served as a fortress for pilgrims marching to Rome on the Francigena road. Many of its decorative and structural features have been attributed to Baldassare Peruzzi.
In the sixteenth century the castle was occupied for a time by the Spanish who made it their own stronghold.
Until it went back into the hands of the Tricerchi’s when it once again became a fortress for pilgrims on their way to the Vatican.
It was during the sixteenth century that the chapel, originally located within the fortified walls (as demonstrated by the presence of the belfry), was relocated to the path to the front of the castle and dedicated to the Virgin of the Veil. A fragment of the Veil, certified by a Papal Bull, is still in the church.
In 1982 the Altesi castle was declared as an artistic and historical heritage site.
The Tricerchi family was a part of the Sienese oligarchy, as shown by their membership of the ‘Monte di Nove’ which, from the twelfth century, monopolised control of Siena.
Their members were the ‘Provveditori delle Biccheme’, a body approved by the Constitution, which took care of the finances of the Republic and depended on the monks of San Galgano (considered the least corruptible).
Under the Grand Duchy, they were elevated to noble rank and continued to carry out important tasks associated with public administration such as recruitment and culural activities.
Men-at-arms from the Tricerchi family fought in a number of battles, including the Battle of Monteaperti which took place on September 4th 1260, and mention should be made of Alessandro, a knight of ‘degli Alti Pensieri’ whose motto was ‘ Non in latera pro nos’.
In the seventeenth century Carlo Tricerchi was a patron and dedicated himself to the arts, a fact borne out by a painting from 1650, inspired by the Nativity, which depicts him along with his family.
In 1820 the last of the Tricerchi’s, Porzia, married a baron Finetti. Then, missing a line of descent, the castle passed to a nephew Falzacappa, his wife Maddalena (Nena) and their first born Giulio (Iulio) Squarcia.
The hillside underlying the castle is covered with vineyards that extend to the lake below which, in ancient times was used to supply domestic water for irrigation.
