Lastra walls

The city wall of the ancient village is still visible in the old town of Lastra a Signa.

The hamlets of Lastra and Malmantile, conveniently located at the intersection of several trade routes, both ruled by the Florentine Republic, were fortified after the raids committed by Gian Galeazzo Visconti in 1397. The construction, partially directed by Filippo Brunelleschi, was not completed until 1426.

The walls of Lastra have the shape of an irregular square. The defensive wall encloses an area  of about 4 hectares, crossed by two roads: the ancient Via Pisana, from east to west, that leads from the Florentine door to the Pisan door, and another road running from north to south, to the so-called "Portone di Baccio" door.
The perimeter of the walls is quite uneven almost everywhere and it is made of different materials; once it was interspersed with ten towers, of which today only seven remain visible.

Inside the walls there are still today some noteworthy buildings, like the Misericordia church, the Spedale di Sant' Antonio, the Podestà tabernacle and the Palazzo del Podestà.