Montecastrese

The castle stands on a hill near the village of Lombrici, 290 m above sea level. The area was already inhabited in the 3rd century BC by the Apuan Ligurians. The area was occupied again between the 8th and 10th centuries AD, when some huts were built. The first stone structures appeared between the 10th and 11th centuries and formed the oldest part of the castle, which reached its maximum expansion in the 12th century, occupying an area of approximately 2.5 hectares. Between the 10th and 12th centuries Montecastrese definitively took on the appearance of a fortified village, the highest part of which, the keep (surrounded by walls), contained two watchtowers, a donjon (a tower for residential use) and numerous dwellings. A second and larger wall, approximately 1 km long, protected the village, which included around a hundred dwellings and the remains of a church dedicated to Santa Barbara.

Montecastrese was the most populous castle in Versilia, favored by a strategic position from which it was possible to control the territory and the underlying road network, which connected the Camaiore valley with Garfagnana and Lombardy (via Lombarda). The lords of the castle could therefore collect the pedagium, a tax on the use of transport infrastructures widespread throughout Europe. In 1219, Montecastrese was divided between the possessions of the two noble families of Versilia, the da Corvaia and the da Vallecchia. Between 1223 and 1226 the castle was conquered by the city of Lucca, which at that time was trying to obtain an outlet to the sea by besieging the castles of Versilia, allies of the Ghibelline Pisa. The towers were demolished. The tower on the mountain finally collapsed a few decades ago due to an earthquake. Starting from the end of the fifteenth century the hill was transformed into an olive grove, a function it still maintains today.

The name derives from the Latin toponym castra, which means 'camp' or, as in this case, 'fortress'.

THE MOUNTAIN TOWER
The tower on the mountain was built in the 12th century and occupied the highest area of the castle, previously occupied by early medieval wooden huts and an initial stone structure. It was a watchtower about 12-15 m high, square and without openings, but equipped with a cistern in the base. A retractable wooden ladder, resting on a stone bracket, allowed one to reach the top.

The tower was enclosed by a quadrangular wall about 11 m long on each side, with a long, narrow room that probably served as a guardhouse and had a double entrance. Around 1225, specialized workers demolished the building, replacing the stones of the tower's facing with wooden poles that were then set on fire. The loss of support from the props caused the tower to collapse and fall.

THE SEA TOWER AND THE DONGE
The spur of rock to the south that dominates the Camaiore valley up to the sea was chosen for the construction of a tower and a donjon (residential building). From here it was possible to control the nearby castles of Greppolungo and Pedona and the passage of men and goods along the Via Francigena from Camaiore towards Lucca. The tower, quadrangular, was built in the 12th century, like its twin tower upstream with which it shares the dimensions (5.40 m per side), the construction technique and the function of sighting. Towards the sea the remains of a larger rectangular structure are visible, probably a donjon, a tower or small palace inhabited by the lord or by the person who administered the castle in