Castello Mediceo

The Medicean Castle of Lari rose around the XIII century on what probably was an ancient Early Middle Ages fortress destroyed by Pisans in 1194.

The building of the original nucleus of the modern fortress took place very slowly between 1230 and 1287. The Upezzinghi, an aristocratic family in clash with Pisa, ordered the building of this stronghold. The counts took refuge in Lari with the goal to transform the village into the strategic and military base from where they could have led their battle against the Republic.
In 1289, yet, at two years' time from the end of works, the Pisans had already conquered the castle. Guido da Montefeltro was the protagonist of the battle. Later, the stronghold belonged to the bishopric of Pisa that exercised its rights until the XVIII century.
The Florentines entered the town in 1406. They carried out the defensive structure in its current architectural layout. The reasons why Florence decided to perform new changes are to be fond in the village's troubled XV century, characterized by numerous battles and exhausting sieges that weakened its defences remarkably.
After the Milanese Niccolò Piccinino occupied Lari from 1431 to 1433, the Pisans assaulted the town twice at the end of the century. First, they arrived alone while later they attacked the town with the aid of some militias of the German emperor Maximilian II.
Francesco da Sangallo, a member of a famous family of architects specialized in fortifications was entrusted the project of strengthening the castle. The works probably stopped in 1530 because the architect died and they started again in 1559.
The vicariate of Lari persuaded Cosimo I de' Medici to send David Fortini in the town and he tried several times to convince the Grand Duke to finance more composite and expensive works with the rebuilding of the castle foundations. In effect, according to the planner, the cellars menaced the stability of the walls.
In the last months of 1559, sixty metres of wall fell down, but Cosimo I refused to use further resources for their reconstructions.
In 1772, a second collapse occurred, but, this time, the Bishop of Pisa forbade a complete renovation of the fortress. In 1775, only the damaged parts were reconstructed. In the XX century, the castle lost its main function, namely being the residence of the local authority, and it was divided into numerous apartments. Its internal structure was completely changed, but, fortunately, it was not the case for its external appearance. Today, it is possible to enter the castle to visit the church, the Palace of Chancellors and the Palace of Vicars.