Montopoli in Val d'Arno

The history

In 924 bishop Pietro of Lucca, who had control over the whole area, decided to construct a castle here, to defend a strategic point, forcing the inhabitants of the nearby village of Mosciano to move inside its walls.
Once the bishop fell from power, Montopoli castle was for a long time contested between Pisa, Lucca and Florence. In 1349 it came definitively under the jurisdiction of the City of Florence which enlarged its fortifications. In 1432, in the valley near San Romano, the armies of Filippo Maria Visconti and of the Florentines met in battle. The victory of the latter was immortalized by Paolo Uccello in three famous paintings.

The following centuries were distinguished by peace in all the territory under the hegemony of Medici. The village grew and developed, while still keeping its architectural individuality and was enhanced by many churches and works of art. In the first half of the 17th century, the plague hit Montopoli too, decimating the population and started the progressive political and military decline of this medieval town. Montopoli then passed under the dominion of the House of Lorraine.

The Valdarno plane around Pisa was pasture land and Montopoli was for a long time an important centre for breeding sheep and for agriculture in general. Today the land in the plane is cultivated with maize, wheat and sunflower crops, while in the town various craft and industrial activities developed to do with leather and shoemaking. The town territory has more than 10.000 inhabitants.