The name Montevarchi gives us a hint on the town's strategic position which is halfway between Arezzo, Florence and Siena. The Palace of the Podestà and the Collegiata of San Lorenzo that houses the important museum of Sacred Art can be admired in this town with about 21,000 inhabitants.

The XV-century "Tempietto" by Andrea della Robbia and the wooden and gilded one which is a reliquiari carried out by Giovanni del Brina in 1567 are among the most valuable works kept inside the museum. Besides other works by Della Robbia, namely one of the members of a famous dynasty of masters in ceramic and earthenware, there are XVII-century paintings and frescoes.
The Bourbon del Monte family owned Montevarchi that was a feudal castle in the Middle Ages and it was later transformed into a monastic complex occupied by the Benedictines. The remains that have allowed to demonstrate the Roman origins of this settlement have been found just near the monastery. The drive to the development of the town appeared around the year 1000 thanks to its favourable position which made it one of the most crowded markets in Central-east Tuscany.
The town's area entered the Florentine's dominion quite early. The direct descendants of its last feudatory, the Count Guido Guerra, ceded it to the Republic of Florence in 1254. Only when Florence was defeated in the battle of Montaperti the town was out of the city's control for a short time.
In the ambit of the XIV-century fights between the Tuscan regional capital and Arezzo, Montevarchi became one of the strongest bulwarks of the Florentine power and the town itself benefited from its role in its commerce development. In the XIII century, the town also had its measure unit called the "Staio di Montevarchi", and this was an evident sign that it was an authentic point of reference, already.
The pacification of the area that took place after the annexation of Arezzo at the half of the XIV century transformed the town's military structures into buildings fit for economic and commercial operations, such as the warehouses where the agricultural products from the whole territory of Valdarno and the Val di Chiana were collected. Also craft grew and specialized in the manufacture linen and hemp. This impulse turned out to be a real industrial revolution. Today, Montevarchi is a lively productive centre that is mostly engaged in the manufacture of leather for high-quality shoes and bags.