Castel di Mura: A Medieval Fortress in Italy
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 3.9
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Republic of Florence
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page9 sections
History
Castel di Mura is a medieval fortified settlement and military stronghold in Italy, near Lancisa in the Commune of San Marcello Piteglio. Built on Monte Castello, it formed part of the defensive system along the borders of the Republic of Lucca, the Duchy of Modena, and the territory of Pistoia, which belonged to the Republic of Florence. Its original construction date is uncertain, but the site was recorded as Castrum de Muris in 1332, when the Commune of Pistoia decided to establish a fortress there.
Conflict and military administration
Castel di Mura was involved in the political and military struggles of the Pistoiese Mountain. In 1303, the White faction of Pistoia attacked the castle, which was then held by Luccan forces and the Black faction of Pistoia. The fighting ended with the destruction of the castle and the defeat of the attackers. Two hundred men and twenty-eight horses were reported killed.
Around 1330, Masino di ser Orlando, Como d’Antonio, and other men from Lizzano and the Pistoiese Mountain were killed at Castel di Mura by Iacopo di Bonaccorso and Tomasino di Fortebraccio de’ Tedici, the son of Filippo Tedici. Iacopo, Tomasino, and their accomplices were later condemned to exile and the confiscation of their property.
From 1355 to 1361, the fortress served as the seat of the Captaincy of the Mountain, a territorial office responsible for governing and defending the mountainous district around Pistoia. The castle was also drawn into the conflict between the Pistoiese Panciatichi and Cancellieri families in 1502. When Panciatichi reinforcements approached, Cancellieri forces that had been besieging the church and bell tower at Lizzano took refuge on the mountain where Castel di Mura stood. This episode does not establish whether the castle was still inhabited at the time.
Abandonment and later transformation
Settlement abandonment began progressively during the fifteenth century and was probably complete by the sixteenth. The former castle area was divided into cultivated plots, and its structures were quarried for building material. In 1578, Francesco I de’ Medici, the Medici grand duke of Tuscany from 1574 to 1587, considered building a new fortress in the Pistoiese Mountain. Castel di Mura was proposed as its location, although the site was described as abandoned and occupied only by the indistinct remains of an ancient, unfinished fortress.
During the formation of the Commune of Lancisa and Spignana between 1507 and 1551, the castle became part of that administrative body before later returning to Lizzano. By the eighteenth century, Castel di Mura had disappeared from several maps, although its ruins were still clearly visible during the first half of that century. In 1737, the enclosing walls were described as standing somewhat high above the ground, with the foundations of the keep, a large tower, and an intact underground cistern still visible.
During the first half of the nineteenth century, the remaining structures were demolished for the reconstruction of the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta, which had been lost in the 1814 landslide at Lizzano. In the nineteenth century, much of the mountain was registered as chestnut woodland with a drying shed, while the summit remained cultivated until the mid-twentieth century.
Rediscovery and archaeological research
In 1968, Vasco Melani, director of the Civic Museum of Pistoia and honorary inspector of the Tuscan archaeological service, inspected the site and recognized the outer wall circuit, tower, and cistern. His report contributed to the site’s inclusion in the 1977 inventory of the architectural and environmental heritage of the Pistoiese Mountain.
The site was surveyed in 2003 through the archaeological project Landscapes and Settlements of the Pistoiese Mountain. From 2014, administrators, researchers, volunteers, heritage authorities, and local communities worked on a recovery project, followed by a further initiative launched in 2015 by the Valle Lune association and local administrations. Archaeological research under a ministerial concession has continued since 2017. Castel di Mura was included as an archaeological area in the 2010 Structural Plan of the Commune of San Marcello Piteglio, although that plan incorrectly attributed the site to the early medieval period.
Remains
Fortified settlement on Monte Castello
The remains occupy Monte Castello between the Verdiana, Volata, and Lima valleys, near Lancisa. Castel di Mura was built in sandstone as a fortified settlement and military fortress. Its surviving archaeological elements include the outer defensive wall circuit, advanced turrets, a tower, the foundations of the keep, and an underground cistern. The settlement remains lie within an archaeological area where excavation is continuing. Demolition, abandonment, cultivation, and the removal of stone for building have reduced the former structures.
Outer defensive walls
The enclosing walls formed the outer boundary of the fortress. Their perimeter has been identified through archaeological work, while descriptions from the first half of the eighteenth century state that the walls still stood somewhat above ground. The circuit is now preserved as an archaeological feature within the excavated area, together with evidence for advanced turrets.
Tower and keep
A tower formed part of the fortified settlement, and later descriptions referred to a large tower as well as the foundations of the keep, the principal fortified enclosure or central stronghold. The tower was subsequently demolished, while the keep survives at foundation level. These remains help define the defensive organization of the sandstone fortress.
Underground cistern
An underground cistern for collecting and storing water belonged to the castle’s surviving infrastructure. It was described as intact in 1737 and was recognized again during the 1968 inspection. Later archaeological work has recorded the cistern as almost intact, making it one of the most clearly preserved elements of the former settlement.
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