What is Montecarlo known for?

1969 DOC for a Trebbiano-French white blend and a Sangiovese-led red, with around twenty wineries inside the commune. Fourteenth-century fortress at the top of the walled hill, expanded by Castruccio Castracani and the Florentines. Founded in 1333 by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV after he ended Pisan rule over Lucca; the name means Charles's Mountain.

Montecarlo is a comune in the province of Lucca, Tuscany region of Italy, about 46 kilometers from Prato.

Tuscany · Lucca

Montecarlo

A walled hill villageabove the Lucca plain, founded by Emperor Charles IV in 1333 and named for him, surrounded by twenty wineries.

46 km / 29 mi

Nearest hub (Prato)

4,389

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Montecarlo sitson an isolated hill above the Lucca plain, looking south toward the Valdinievole. Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV founded it in 1333 after liberating Lucca from Pisan rule, on a site previously called Vivinaia for the wine roads that crossed the hill. The name Monte di Carlo, Charles's mountain, has held since. The walled centro storico is still ringed by its fourteenth-century defensive walls, with the Fortezza del Cerruglio rising above the highest point. Wine production has been documented here since Roman times; the first tavern keepers selling Trebbiano in barrels appear in records in 1371. The Montecarlo DOC was established in 1969, the white blends Trebbiano with French varieties including Sémillon and Pinot Gris, and roughly twenty wineries operate within the commune, a notable density for a population under 4,500.

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Gallery

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Known for

Fortezza del Cerruglio
Fourteenth-century fortress on the highest point of the hill, expanded by Castruccio Castracani and the Florentines in the fifteenth century.
Centro storico
Walled medieval village founded by Charles IV in 1333, still inside its original defensive perimeter along Via Roma.
Teatro dei Rassicurati
Small eighteenth-century theatre with 95 seats and a horseshoe plan, inaugurated in 1795 and still used for the autumn season.
Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
Fourteenth-century parish church inside the walls, with a Crucifixion attributed to the school of the Lucchese painter Berlinghieri.
Strada del Vino di Montecarlo
Wine road circuit linking roughly twenty wineries that produce the Montecarlo DOC, a Trebbiano-led white and a Sangiovese-led red.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September through October bracket the year here. April brings the vines into leaf, May the first whites of the new vintage onto cellar tables, and September the harvest. The Festa del Vino runs in early September on the streets inside the walls. July and August push temperatures over 35 degrees and the hilltop catches the worst of the Valdinievole heat by midday; cellars stay cool. November through March is quiet, the cantine open by appointment, the Teatro dei Rassicurati programs its autumn-winter season, and the walls do their best photography in fog when the plain below disappears.