Castello di Montalto hosts religious, symbolic and civil weddings, with a banquet hall seating up to 100 guests, a courtyard for summer dinners of 100 or more and a chapel for 40 to 50. Guests can stay on site in 10 holiday homes with 22 bedrooms for up to 45 adults. The castle stands in the countryside of Castelnuovo Berardenga, between Siena and Arezzo, and is still the home of the family that owns it.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are the event the castle sells. The chapel, offered as an option, is reserved for Christian ceremonies, and the team can help find a priest who celebrates in the couple's language. Symbolic ceremonies take place in a dedicated garden area, with help to find a celebrant. Civil weddings can be held in the castle garden or in public venues nearby: the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, the town hall of Castelnuovo Berardenga or the Grancia of Serre di Rapolano. The aperitif is served as an outdoor buffet. Around the wedding day, the castle can arrange brunches, dinners, barbecues, wine tastings, tours and excursions, which suits a wedding weekend where guests stay several nights. The official site does not present an offer for seminars or company events; group requests go through the contact page.
Rooms and capacities
The banquet hall seats up to 100 guests. In summer, dinners move to the open courtyard, which takes 100 or more. The chapel seats 40 to 50, with standing room at the back. The gardens host civil and symbolic ceremonies. Guests also share common rooms, a large swimming pool, a country tennis court and walking trails.
Accommodation
The 10 self-catering homes were made from the castle's old stone houses. They range from San Martino, a one-bedroom tower for two, to La Loggia, a four-bedroom apartment for eight, and Torre del Vescovo, a wing of the castle with a lookout tower for six or seven. Together they sleep up to 45 adults plus children. Stays have a minimum of two to four nights depending on the month, and the team can help find more rooms nearby for larger parties. A buffet breakfast is served in season.
Catering
Catering is not run in house. The castle works with several caterers and chefs who cook Tuscan food, and couples may bring their own caterer. Florists, photographers, musicians, hair and make-up artists and a wedding planner can be suggested, and an outside planner is welcome.
History and setting
Montalto della Berardenga is about a thousand years old. Tradition dates it before the year 1000, built by Winigis, the first count of Siena, or by his son Berard. The castle stayed loyal to Siena; Florence defeated the Sienese here in 1207, and the rebuilt walls withstood a siege in 1260. In the early 16th century Siena gave it to Count Giovanni Palmieri, and in 1555 it came under Medici rule, when a Renaissance portico was added to the courtyard. The Coda-Nunziante family, related to the last Palmieri, has owned it since 1970 and farms the land organically. The Hall of Arms keeps frescoes of rural life, and the chapel was restored in neo-Gothic style.
Getting there
The castle is at Strada di Montalto 16 and is reached by car from the A1 motorway. Florence airport is under an hour and a half away, Pisa about two hours and Rome about three. Castelnuovo Berardenga, Rapolano and Ambra are about 15 minutes away.
