Cennina Castle Keep, perched strategically on a steep hill (photo: O.Righi)

In 1968, a half-Italian half-French sculptor and ceramist, Osvaldo Righi, fell in love with the ruin of a 12th century castle. Situated on a hilltop in the Valdambra valley, which leads from the Valdarno into the province of Siena, this castle was once a fortress held by feudal nobility, protecting a small a village. The ruins and part of the village were for sale, and Osvaldo sank everything he had into acquiring what everyone told him would be his own ruin. The road was terrible, most of the village was abandoned, and the task of restoration hopeless.

Yet word spread, and by the summer of 1969 it was known through the grapevine from Florence to London to New York that it was possible to stay in Tuscany and help reconstruct Cennina in exchange for room and board. Young people from all over Europe and North America passed through Cennina, rebuilding medieval walls in exchange for copious amounts of pasta and local chianti wine, and in the next few years a cultural center was born for art exhibitions, concerts and summer seminars.

Today the cultural centre is still active in the summer months, and the concerts (of all kinds of music) are not to be missed. Osvaldo has also restored a few of the medieval living quarters into holiday apartments for rent, and has his own line of ceramic sculptural objects, table and glassware which can be consulted on the internet (see “Cennina Ceramics”). Do not miss a trip to Cennina when you are in the area, at any time of year.

Left: Cennina village

Right: Osvaldo Righi

Ceramic Ware by Osvaldo Righi

Posted in Blog (DE) Edit