Casciana Terme | The Vicari Castle of Lari

Before reaching Lari, you will notice a building that stands out from all the others: it is the Vicari Castle (Castello dei Vicari), a severe building with an unmistakable circular plan and a double circle of high walls. The first nucleus of the castle dates back to the early Middle Ages, but the structure currently visible is the first half of the 17th century.

It is with the Florentine conquest of the 15th century that it knows the maximum importance, becoming the seat of a Vicariate.

A flight of 100 steps

A flight of almost one hundred steps leads to the courtyard where the Palazzo Pretorio stands out with its façade covered by the numerous coats of arms of the vicars who succeeded one another in the Castle for over four centuries. At the center of the courtyard is a cistern, and to the side is a small chapel. The fortress, even if remodeled, still presents all the functions to which it has acquitted: fortress, prison, residence, court. Characteristics that contribute to making it an almost unique example in Tuscany.

The Didactic Museum

Today, the Castle hosts an innovative interactive museum, where technological applications are integrated with an illustrative system that leads to the discovery of the fortress’ secrets. The user decides what to explore and how to interact with the numerous multimedia applications, through multi-touch tables, multimedia educational games, holographic characters in costume, projections. A story and a discovery within the reach of children, thanks to some short films and applications. Visitors can thus reconstruct its history, exploring the dungeons, the court room, the prison with the cells, and the rooms that animated the castle in the sixteenth century.

Events and weddings

The Castle hosts all year round events, historical re-enactments and is also a location for weddings.