The Castle of Montevetrano is a medieval castle in the municipality of San Cipriano Picentino. The fortress originated from a Roman castrum of the 3rd century BC, built to control the Picentine populations who were relocated in the plain of Sele.
Between the 11th and 13th centuries, it was equipped with perimeter walls, with an entrance gate on the north side, and a cylindrical tower located inside the courtyard.
In 1867, the Carabinieri (Italian military police) used the castle to monitor the incursions of bandits. During World War II, the castle was occupied by the German army, who, thanks to its strategic position on the hill, could control the entire Sele Valley.
The castle's intact perimeter walls, four interior rooms, the three-level cylindrical tower, and two large cisterns have survived to this day.
Saint-Émilion is a picturesque medieval village renowned for its well-preserved architecture and vineyards. The town and surrounding vineyards was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, owing to its long, living history of wine-making, Romanesque churches and ruins stretching all along steep and narrow streets.
An oppidum was built on the hill overlooking the present-day city in Gaulish times, before the regions was annexed by Augustus in 27 BC. The Romans planted vineyards in what was to become Saint-Émilion as early as the 2nd century. In the 4th century, the Latin poet Ausonius lauded the fruit of the bountiful vine.
Because the region was located on the route of the Camino de Santiago, many monasteries and churches were built during the Middle Ages, and in 1199, while under Plantagenet rule, the town was granted full rights.