CARPINETI 1092: THE CONGRESS THAT LEADS TO VICTORY

It was the most loved by Matilda amongst all her castles, it’s the highest of all Appennini’s fortresses and perhaps the safest one, located on the rocky headland dominating Secchia’s Valley and characterised by its fortified tower, the donjon, the chapel and three concentric walls. Here Matilda spent what was possibly the happiest period of her life in the spring of 1077, with the companionship of Pope Gregory VII: Matilda was a 30 years old woman, ready to sacrifice her life for the cause of the Reform. However, in this castle she also spent the most challenging period of her life during the struggle against Henry IV in the autumn of 1092, before the famous ‘meeting of Carpineti’ took place, when she found herself alone to decide whether continuing the war, supported only by the encouraging words of John the Hermit (from Marola). In 1116, one year after her death, the rooms of the castle welcomed another Matilda, the daughter of Henry King of England and wife of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor succeeded to his father Henry IV, who descended to Italy to claim the inheritance of the Canossa dynasty.