Montemurlo is a flat town in the province of Prato and has a population of about 17000 inhabitants. The parish of San Giovanni Battista Decollato , with its Gothic-style portico, its wonderful Torre Campanaria and the Fortress of Montemurlo can be admired in the town.
The origins of the village have been attributed to the Romans who created the first fortifications. The medieval crenellations, that gave life to the town’s toponym, were added later. Yet, the archaeological finds have highlighted human settlements since the Neolithic (5000 B.C.). Among the Roman-Etruscan discoveries, a VI/V-century old Etruscan stele representing a warrior stands out.
In any case, the first document on Montemurlo is far more “recent” and dates to 1019. Another document reads that in 1100 another fortified castle had already been raised under the Counts Guidi, a powerful feudatory family coming from Southern Tuscany. During the years, the stronghold had many owners. Those who bought it from Florence in 1254 are even cited by Dante Alighieri in the XVI Canto of the Divine Comedy.
In 1274, Montemurlo became the base of the Ghibellines from Prato. The Guelfs had sent them away and later made an irruption also in the village to defeat them. Instead, in 1325, it was Castruccio Castracani who besieged the fortress in the ambit of his operations in the territory of Pistoia. Nevertheless, the impressiveness of its defences allowed the town to resist and, consequently, it became the shelter of political refugees for the umpteenth time.
In 1537, the members of the anti-Medicean Florence found refuge in Montemurlo since they were chased by Cosimo I’s troops. Nevertheless, in the same year, his troops, led by Alessandro Vitelli, could enter the castle and they definitively defeated the enemies of the Grand Duchy seigniory.
Therefore, Montemurlo became a tranquil rural area in the Tuscan Grand Duchy from the first half of the XIV century on. In the Modern Age, the industrial revolution characterized Montemurlo also thanks to its favourable geographical position that ensured it a remarkable development and population increase. Since the 60’s of the post-war period, Montemurlo has been one of the most important centres of Prato’s textile industry.