Calenzano Alto, between history and culture

A few km from Florence and Prato, we find the town of Calenzano, where it is possible to visit a splendid medieval village, Calenzano Alto. The small village is dominated by the Castle and the walls with Guelph towers and angular battlements still visible today. The layout has an oval plan, typical of hill towns, and on the two sides of the village there are the two access gates to the city. The buildings that characterize it are located near the South Gate, also known as the intact court with its pointed arch in sandstone and its slender tower; The upper gate is also called Porta del Serraglio, which is dominated by a less imposing tower and flanked by the intact north face of the castle walls with the north-west corner tower. Going along the way we find the entrance to the old prisons, later transformed into a common oven, located under the Church of San Nicolò which preserves inside the wonderful frescoes. At the center of the castle you can still see the thirteenth-century podesta office and an ancient church. The village still retains the typical features of the fortified hillside village and crowns a neck of about 200 meters above sea level, which is lapped to the west by the La Marina stream and to the north by the slopes of Mugello. The construction of the castle is due to the Guidi Counts of the Modigliana family who obtained the concession from King Henry VI at the beginning of the 13th century. The town thus became a strategic point for accessing the alluvial plain of the Arno towards the capital. Among the cultural attractions there is the Maraviglia festival which hosts street artists every year and then the Calenzano festival which presents various kinds of shows.