Montecarlo, Tuscany Explained

Montecarlo
Official Name:	Comune di Montecarlo
Coordinates:	43.8514°N 10.6678°W
Region:	Tuscany
Province:	Lucca (LU)
Frazioni:	San Giuseppe, San Piero in Campo, San Salvatore, Turchetto
Mayor:	Vittorio Fantozzi
Area Total Km2:	15.67
Population Footnotes:	^[1]
Population Total:	4397
Population As Of:	31 March 2017
Population Demonym:	Montecarlesi
Elevation M:	162
Postal Code:	55015
Area Code:	0583

Montecarlo is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Lucca in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 50km (30miles) west of Florence and about 12km (07miles) east of Lucca.

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 rule. A true settlement, however, appeared only after the Florentines destroyed the nearby castle of Vivinaia, and the authorities of the Republic of Lucca 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- 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.
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 Lucca. 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, Czech Republic, since 2002
Althen-des-Paluds, France, since 2003
Mylau, Germany, since 2006

External links

Official website of Comune of Montecarlo

Notes and References

All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute Istat.