Torres de Altamira

Brión, Spain

Torres de Altamira is a ruined castle in Brión, connected to powerful Moscoco family. It was built in the 9th century AD and rebuilt in 1471. In the 17th century it was in bad condition and today mainly towers remain.

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Address

Torre 1, Brión, Spain
See all sites in Brión

Details

Founded: 9th century AD
Category: Castles and fortifications in Spain

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Santiago de Compostela Cathedral (11,7 km)
Pazo de Raxoi (11,5 km)
Monastery of San Martiño Pinario (11,7 km)
Monastery of San Paio de Antealtares (11,8 km)
Igrexa de San Xurxo (59,8 km)
Igrexa de Santiago Church (59,7 km)
Pontevedra Museum (49,6 km)
La Peregrina Chapel (49,8 km)
San Domingos Convent Ruins (49,7 km)

User Reviews

Miguel Ángel López Sevillano (6 months ago)
Although there is not much left, it is a place to visit and enjoy for a while. Going down there is a path to the right that can be traveled perhaps in about fifteen or twenty minutes at a leisurely pace. It is worth the visit and the walk. The streets are narrowed by the towns as we get closer, careful with going fast
Francis Heybrook (11 months ago)
Good for the imagination
Anita (12 months ago)
Hauntingly enchanting
Burke Heather (3 years ago)
Not too far from Santiago are the ruins of this 800 year old castle. It does not take more than half an hour to explore the ruins but well worth the drive.
Víctor Turrado-Rodriguez (5 years ago)
Ancient ruins of a castle near Santiago de Compostela. Nice explanatory panels. From the top of the church tower there are some amazing views of the Mahia Valley even though it is forbidden to get up there (don't worry, no guards)
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Palazzo Colonna

The Palazzo Colonna is a palatial block of buildings built in part over ruins of an old Roman Serapeum, and has belonged to the prestigious Colonna family for over twenty generations.

The first part of the palace dates from the 13th century, and tradition holds that the building hosted Dante in his visit to Rome. The first documentary mention notes that the property hosted Cardinal Giovanni and Giacomo Colonna in the 13th century. It was also home to Cardinal Oddone Colonna before he ascended to the papacy as Martin V (1417–1431).

With his passing, the palace was sacked during feuds, and the main property passed into the hands of the Della Rovere family. It returned to the Colonna family when Marcantonio I Colonna married Lucrezia Gara Franciotti Della Rovere, the niece of pope Julius II. The Colonna"s alliance to the Habsburg power, likely protected the palace from looting during the Sack of Rome (1527).

Starting with Filippo Colonna (1578–1639) many changes have refurbished and create a unitary complex around a central garden. Architects including Girolamo Rainaldi and Paolo Marucelli labored on specific projects. Only in the 17th and 18th centuries were the main facades completed. Much of this design was completed by Antonio del Grande (including the grand gallery), and Girolamo Fontana (decoration of gallery). In the 18th century, the long low facade designed by Nicola Michetti with later additions by Paolo Posi with taller corner blocks (facing Piazza Apostoli) was constructed recalls earlier structures resembling a fortification.

The main gallery (completed 1703) and the masterful Colonna art collection was acquired after 1650 by both the cardinal Girolamo I Colonna and his nephew the Connestabile Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna and includes works by Lorenzo Monaco, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Palma the Elder, Salviati, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci (painting of The Beaneater), Guercino, Francesco Albani, Muziano and Guido Reni. Ceiling frescoes by Filippo Gherardi, Giovanni Coli, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari celebrate the role of Marcantonio II Colonna in the battle of Lepanto (1571). The gallery is open to the public on Saturday mornings.

The older wing of the complex known as the Princess Isabelle"s apartments, but once housing Martin V"s library and palace, contains frescoes by Pinturicchio, Antonio Tempesta, Crescenzio Onofri, Giacinto Gimignani, and Carlo Cesi. It contains a collection of landscapes and genre scenes by painters like Gaspard Dughet, Caspar Van Wittel (Vanvitelli), and Jan Brueghel the Elder.

Along with the possessions of the Doria-Pamphilij and Pallavacini-Rospigliosi families, this is one of the largest private art collections in Rome.

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