Castiglion fiorentino

Populated since Etruscan times, the inhabited center wasn’t recorded with the name of “Castiglione” until the X century , when it was a feud of the marquises of Monte Santa Maria. In the High Middle Ages, although it was under the protection of the emperor , Castiglione was submitted to the powerful diocese of Arezzo. It became a free Township in the second half of the XII century, but it was continuously in conflict with the nearby great townships. After the Aretine defeat at Campaldino (1289), Castiglione passed under the domain of Florence. Nevertheless, in 1303, the Aretine and Sienese troops, led by Uguccione della Faggiuola, conquered the town and returned it to Arezzo. It was at that time that Castiglione , baptized with the new name of Castiglion Aretino, was rebuilt according to a specific town plan, thanks to the bishop and Lord of Arezzo Guido Tarlati. Unfortunately when the Lord died, Castiglione’s future became quite uncertain: it was yielded to Florence in 1336, in 1344 it was seized by the Perugians, thus becoming “Castiglion Perugino”.
After having been devastated by the black plague in 1348, in 1369 the population rebelled against Perugia, placing itself under the protection of the State of the Church. Since 1384 the town passed definitely to Florence and from that time on , with the new name of “Castiglion Fiorentino”, remained under its domain. At the beginning of the XV century, due to new plagues and relative famine, there was a new period of crisis. During the war between Florence and the Sienese Republic, Castiglione was conquered by the Florentine (but enemy of Cosimo I de’ Medici) Piero Strozzi, but returned in a short time under Florence. The Grand Duchy of the Lorena (1765) followed the Medicean government. It was, in particular, Pietro Leopoldo, that decided to improve the marshy area , putting the engineer Vittorio Fossombroni in charge of reclaiming the area. In 1774, Pietro Leopoldo himself ordered an administrative reorganization of the Grand Duchy: the townships of Montecchio Vesponi, Mammi and La Montanina were annexed to the township of Castiglion Fiorentino.
A German StuG 40 Ausf.G dated 1940, testimony of the passage of the war in this area, discovered in 1990 in the countryside near Castiglion Fiorentino , was restored , and placed in 1993 in Piazzale Garibaldi in memory of all the tank car men that died during all wars . The Florentine domain ceased in 1799, as the French conquered Tuscany. As it happened in all the towns conquered, also in Castiglion Fiorentino was erected the Tree of Liberty in Piazza del Mercato, now Piazzale Garibaldi . Aside from a short interval, during which the town was liberated by the rebels of “Viva Maria”, Castiglion Fiorentino was under the control of the Napoleonic troops from 1800 to 1814. With the Restoration, the Lorena family returned and terminated the reclamation of the Valdichiana.
Later on Castiglion Fiorentino followed the destiny of Tuscany and the Kingdom of Italy.