Malmantile walls

The medieval castle of Malmantile, a hamlet of Lastra a Signa, nestled on a wonderful hillside, stands as a quite unique monument, that has retained the whole perimeter of the city wall.

The castle was built at the beginning of the 15th century, at the same time as the walls of Lastra a Signa in 1397. Unlike Lastra, the walls of Malmantile were not built to enclose a town, but in response to defensive needs.

After the fall of the Florentine Republic in 1530, the fortified axis of the Via Pisana started losing its importance and in the second half of the 18th century a new stretch of road between Montelupo and Porto di Mezzo was opened. Therefore Malmantile remained isolated, preserving over the centuries its rectangular city wall on top of a hill.

The walls, built on the rocky subsoil, have an irregular plan, with square-based donjons. On the side facing Pisa you can still see many of the integral elements, such as the square machicolations from which, in case of an attack, the defenders could drop blunt objects or boiling liquids on the assailants attempting the climb.