Montescudaio

The counts of Montescudaio, a branch of the Della Gherardesca, held this castle above the Cecina valley and rebelled more than once against Pisa, until the villagers formed their own commune and pushed them out. Earthquakes in 1846 and 1871 took the castle's oldest houses, but a civic tower still marks its entrance, and the Guardiola, the old lookout tower, is now a viewpoint.

Highlights

• Santa Maria Assunta, rebuilt after 1846 in a scenic spot in the castle
• Torre Civica, 12th century at its base, at the castle entrance
• The Guardiola lookout tower, now a belvedere
• Excavated remains of the Badia di Santa Maria, a Benedictine nunnery
• Palazzo Surbone, where Grand Duke Leopold II stayed after the 1846 earthquake

Summary based on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), written with AI assistance.