My 8-year-old daughter Costanza dressed up as ‘Princess Costanza d’Altavilla’ this year for Carnival. Actually she wanted to dress up as Princess Costanza from ‘Rocca Costanza’ (the famous 15th century fortification in Pesaro) but when she found out that the fortification (‘rocca’ in Italian) was named after a man (Costanzo Sforza) – and not a woman – she accepted dressing like the mother of Frederick II Stupor Mundi instead 😉
Last Friday morning, after taking my mother’s car to the mechanic, I walked by Rocca Costanza in Pesaro while heading towards the city centre. It was a partly sunny day with a very special light, so I thought I might take some pictures of the massive fortification built between 1474 and 1483 by Costanzo Sforza.
Rocca Costanza hunted me since my childhood. From 1864 to 1989 it was converted to a prison and when I was a child, each time we drove by or walked by with my family, I could not help but thinking that inside those donjons there lived heartless criminals (now that I’m older, and wiser, I think that the prison just hosted petty thieves, leaving ‘heartless criminals’ to a maximum security prison) 😉
Anyway, last Friday I was lucky enough to take some good pictures and, in particular, one great shot of a close-up pigeon taking off right in front of my phone.
Enjoy the following photogallery and if you’d like to learn some more about Rocca Costanza, you can find out here
wherelemonsblossom.wordpress.com 
Hi Simona– looks like the fortification is is still in remarkable shape for a building that is over 500 years old!! Is it ever open to go inside?? Is it used for something now that the criminals are all gone?? I know I always say this, but really Simona you live in the most amazing place. Blessings to you all there. xo
Hi Rhonda. The Rocca hosts each year the event ‘Popsophia’ (an event on ‘pop philosophy’) and a few concerts in the inner garden in the Summertime. It is undergoing (long) severe restoration works though. Some say one day it will host the collections from different museums in Pesaro. That would be great 🙂 Let’s wait and… hope! xoxo
So fascinating Simona– the oldest things in our town are a handful of 100 year old cottages. Love the history all around you… xox
Hi Rhonda. There are so many different kinds of amazing beauties in the world… old and new! I love the way you spread sun all around you! xoxo