Inside and outside the wall

Description of the village Montecarlo

Montecarlo's urban set-up is organized around parallel and perpendicular main streets, and it is enclosed by fortified walls, towered over by the majestic Belfry of the Collegiate of Sant'Andrea, visible from the whole surrounding plain. Of the fourteenth-century gates placed along the walls there remain Porta Fiorentina (the 15th century Florentina Gate, modified in the 16th century) to the east, the Porticciola (the 14th century Lucca Gate) to the west towards Lucca which was widened in 1594, while Porta Nuova (or New Gate) to the south was reopened at the end of the sixteenth century. On the main street, formerly via Grande and today Via Roma, we encounter the the Collegiate Church of Sant'Andrea. In nearby via Carmignani we find the Municipal Theatre of the Rassicurati. The well-preserved town walls, attached to the fortress, can be still admired today. These walls also include the three main town gates.