Casina Bonafede

Casina Bonafede is a fortified residence built in the early decades of the 16th century by Nicolò Bonafede. Modeled after Tuscan Renaissance villas, it was designed both as a leisure residence and a defensive refuge. It stands on a hill 232 meters above sea level, approximately three kilometers from the center of Monte San Giusto, immersed in the rural landscape of the Marche region. The structure is a sixteen-meter-per-side quadrilateral, reinforced at the corners by four embanked towers with slits for arquebuses and bombards. The entrance consists of a pointed-arch portal, surmounted by the remains of a defensive machicolation and connected to an internal system that allowed the door to be closed with a second sliding portcullis. The exterior features three arched windows on each side, while inside, the ground and first floors follow the same layout, divided symmetrically by a load-bearing wall. Over the centuries, the building changed ownership several times until it became a farmhouse, but it always retained its original layout. Among the most curious spaces are a four-meter-deep circular ice house and a large well dug into the north tower, which ensured a water supply. The entire complex rests on a solid sandstone foundation, with Roman opus caementitium foundations, evidence of a construction designed to last.