Fortress of Montecarlo

MONTECARLO FORTRESS – 14 KM FROM MONTECATINI TERME

Located on the northwest edge of the Montecarlo hill, the fortress was built in the 12th century. At that time the fortress was already made up of a main semicircular tower, called “mastio”, and two square-plan towers, which with the mastio and the curtains that united them formed a massive and imposing triangular structure, which is still visible today.
Numerous restoration works were carried out on the fort at the end of the fourteenth century by Mastro Lanfranco da Como, then during the fifteenth century perhaps by order of Paolo Guinigi, lord of Lucca and finally in the sixteenth century by Cosimo de’ Medici, who erect the imposing complex of bastions with Florentine arches still visible today from the side of the town. The reason for all these expansions is to be found in its strategic position, of extreme importance for the control of the plain of Lucca and the Valdinievole.
Today the place has been opened to the public with the aim of making the structure usable as a museum and to host exhibitions, conferences and other cultural events.
The visitor finds himself in an environment where silence and tranquility reign, and where elements typical of military buildings and others that recall the stately homes of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are intertwined in a pleasant way.

Hours:
From May to October: Saturday and Sunday 4-7pm.
From November to April: for groups on appointment (tel:0583-22401)