Montecarlo is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Lucca The province of Lucca ( it, provincia di Lucca) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca. It has an area of and a total population of about 390,000. There are 33 ''comuni'' (singular: ''comune'') in the pro ...

in the Italian region

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, located about west of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and about east of

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

History

Fort and village Montecarlo was founded in 1333 by future Bohemian king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (Montecarlo in Italian means "Charles' Mountain"), who freed the nearby city of Lucca from the

Pisan Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

rule. A true settlement, however, appeared only after the Florentines destroyed the nearby castle of Vivinaia, and the authorities of the

Republic of Lucca The Republic of Lucca ( it, Repubblica di Lucca) was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Lucca in Tuscany, which lasted from 1160 to 1805. Its territory extended beyond the city of Lucca, reaching the surr ...

moved the population to the same hill of Charles' castle. Montecarlo was a possession of the Republic of Florence from 1437.

Main sights

Sant'Andrea Sant'Andrea is the Italian language, Italian name for List of saints named Andrew, St. Andrew, most commonly Andrew the Apostle. It may refer to: Communes in Italy *Castronuovo di Sant'Andrea, Basilicata *Cazzano Sant'Andrea, Lombardy *Mazzarrà ...

- Collegiate church first built in the 14th century, but much of the structure, including the interior, was refurbished in 1783. It is the tallest building in the village. The crypt retains the

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...

. * San Piero in Campo- Pieve or ''rural parish church'' at the foot of Montecarlo's castle. The building, among the first mentioned in Early Medieval Lucchese documents, has one of the oldest bell towers in the whole diocese of

. The church was completely rebuilt in the 12th century and again after the village was destroyed in the 14th century. *''Rocca del Cerruglio'' *''Teatro dei Rassicurati''

Sister cities

Montecarlo is twinned with: *

Karlštejn Karlštejn Castle ( cs, hrad Karlštejn; german: Burg Karlstein) is a large Gothic castle founded in 1348 by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor-elect and King of Bohemia. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Imperial Regalia as well as ...

, Czech Republic, since 2002 * Althen-des-Paluds, France, since 2003 *

Mylau Mylau is a town and a former municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany with about 2600 citizens. Since 1 January 2016 it is part of the town Reichenbach im Vogtland. It is situated in the valleys of the ri ...

, Germany, since 2006

References

External links

Official website of Comune of Montecarlo
Cities and towns in Tuscany Populated places established in the 1330s {{Lucca-geo-stub

History

Main sights

Sister cities

See also

References

External links