Villafranca Castle, Moneglia, Italy

Villafranca Castle was built around 1130 and it was heavily altered in 14th and 15th centuries.

User Reviews

danilo bug (11 months ago)
Beautiful recovery operation of a historic and panoramic site. However, insufficient maintenance and care.

Simone (2 years ago)
Walk of steps leading to the top of the undemanding tower Clean area, let go a bit but still worth a visit Spectacular view of Moneglia and the beach There is a sort of museum and conference rooms but they were closed

Giuliana Adami (2 years ago)
Suggestive .. overlooking the sea!

marcella pogna (2 years ago)
Riparo dalla calura tra le piante e le fortificazioni dove si ha una bella vista del mare..a noi è piaciuto molto

Marko Rodella (2 years ago)
Nice park to visit, if you have some free time, only the building is left with little maintenance, almost abandoned

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Photo from Flickr, copyright jadwiga.ws

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Tyniec Abbey

Tyniec Benedictine abbey was founded by King Casimir the Restorer probably around 1044. Casimir decided to rebuild the newly established Kingdom of Poland, after a Pagan rebellion and a disastrous Czech raid of Duke Bretislaus I (1039). The Benedictines, invited to Tyniec by the King, were tasked with restoring order as well as cementing the position of the State and the Church. First Tyniec Abbot was Aaron, who became the Bishop of Kraków. Since there is no conclusive evidence to support the foundation date as 1040, some historians claim that the abbey was founded by Casimir the Restorer’ son, King Boleslaw II the Generous.

In the second half of the 11th century, a complex of Romanesque buildings was completed, consisting of a basilica and the abbey. In the 14th century, it was destroyed in Tatar and Czech raids, and in the 15th century it was rebuilt in Gothic style. Further remodelings took place in the 17th and 18th centuries, first in Baroque, then in Rococo style. The abbey was partly destroyed in the Swedish invasion of Poland, and soon afterwards was rebuilt, with a new library. Further destruction took place during the Bar Confederation, when Polish rebels turned the abbey into their fortress.

In 1816, Austrian authorities liquidated the abbey, and in 1821-1826, it was the seat of the Bishop of Tyniec, Grzegorz Tomasz Ziegler. The monks, however, did not return to the abbey until 1939, and in 1947, remodelling of the neglected complex was initiated. In 1968, the Church of St. Peter and Paul was once again named the seat of the abbot. The church itself consists of a Gothic presbytery and a Baroque main nave. Several altars were created by an 18th-century Italian sculptor Francesco Placidi. The church also has a late Baroque pulpit by Franciszek Jozef Mangoldt.

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