Beautiful Tuscany

In antiquity, the territory of Montelupo, situated between Montalbano and the middle course of the river Arno, was already an important crossroad on the communication route between the Florentine area, the Apennine world and the Tyrrhenian coast. Its location on the old Roman road that joined Florence and Pisa and the presence of waterways led to the development of numerous manufacturing activities, including ceramics. In the course of the 15th and 16th centuries the ceramics of Montelupo were particularly splendid. Numerous workshops continue to produce artistic ceramics and every year in June the story of the place and its traditions come back to life in the performances, exhibitions and artistic events that are part of the International Ceramics Festival.Montelupo was probably founded with the construction of a castle at the end of the Early Middle Ages. The Florentine Republic, which took over the territory in 1204, rebuilt and enlarged the original miltary settlement. In the 14th century (1333-36) a new circle of walls, still in part visible, was constructed to protect the town that had developed at the foot of the hill on which the Priory of S. Lorenzo, built in the 13th century, still stands. At the end of the 16th century the Medici built a large villa on the left bank of the Arno of the neighbouring locality of the Ambrogiana. In the 19th century it was turned into a prison asylum, the Ospedale Psichiatrice Giudiziario.

Monuments, churches and museums

Museo Archeologico della Ceramica
The museum has two departments: the archeology of the territory (Prehistorical Age, Etruscan Age, Roma Age and Middle Ages) and the history of the ceramics of Montelupo.

Opening hours Museo Archeologico della Ceramica:
Tuesday - Sunday: 10 am – 6 pmClosed: Eastern, 15th of August, Christmas, Newyear
via Baccio Sinibaldi - Montelupo Fiorentino tel.+39 0571 51 352