Castle of Acquafredda

Description

According to tradition, the Castle of Acquafredda was built by the Donoratico della Gherardesca family when they took possession of the southwestern part of the Sardinia. In fact, count Ugolino dei Donoratico, a nobleman of Cagliari who was immortalized by Dante in Canto 23 of Inferno in the Divine Comedy, became the owner of the castle in 1257, while the fortress is older and was mentioned in a papal bull of 1215. After the death of Ugolino (1288), it went to Pisa, then to the Aragonese (1324) and later on from one feudal lord to another until it was redeemed by Victor Amadeus III of Savoy (1785).

From the top of a hill, the castle dominates the territory of Siliqua, which is 4km away. After climbing its slopes, the landscape varies from the green Valley of Cixerri to Cagliari and from Marmilla to the Iglesiente area. It rises up out of the Mediterranean scrub and it has three levels that blend harmoniously with the sloping ground.

At a height of 150m there is a door that was once defended by three towers joined together by a boundary wall. The central one still survives and has recently been renovated. Inside the defensive line, there was the village with dwellings, warehouses, stables, cisterns and mills. Halfway up, at about 200m, stands the formidable cistern tower: the name Acquafredda comes from a spring that flows from the rocks on the hillside. In the highest part (250m) stand the impressive walls of the fortified tower, the dwelling of the castellan, accessible via a drawbridge.

The building had a basement with a cistern (still well-preserved), two floors and a terrace fortified with 'Guelph' merlons. The entrance led to an open space, around which the rooms were located. On the second floor there is the watchtower, which is still intact.

At the foot of the hill there is a eucalyptus and pine forest with a picnic area. Here, rare birds of prey nest here and fly over the fortress: kestrels, buzzards and lesser kestrels.

Position on map