Fortress of Carmignano

The fortress also known as the Castle is a symbolic place of Carmignano, reachable through a pedestrian path that starts from the parish church of San Michele and Francesco. As you climb along the route, you can enjoy a fascinating panorama of the plain that extends between Florence, Prato and Pistoia. On clear days, it is possible to see the Dome of the Florence Cathedral and Villa La Ferdinanda in Artimino, which are nearby.

The fortress of Carmignano has had a strategic role over the centuries and has been the subject of violent and repeated clashes between Florence and Pistoia for its possession. The Pistoia people first conquered the area in 1125 and began to fortify it; subsequently, in 1324, Castruccio Castracani conquered the fortress which then definitively passed under the control of Florence, starting a period of lasting peace and stability.

The current complex of the Carmignano fortress is a nineteenth-century reconstruction on remains dating back to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is composed of the remains of the three walls and the bell tower, known as Campano. In the center of the fortress, surrounded by a grove, there is a small building which houses some exhibition rooms. Furthermore, a corner of the internal garden, created by the Lions Club of the Medici municipalities, is dedicated to figs and shows all the varieties of this fruit present and cultivated on Montalbano, the hill on which Carmignano is located.

Information

• Address: Via del Castello, 1, Carmignano

• Ticket: free entrance

• Accessibility for disabled: no

• Phone: 055 8712468

• GPX coordinates: 43.8108538,11.0123211