Fortezza Medicea

A terrace over the city

A jewel of 16th century military architecture, the Fortezza Medicea stands on the hill of San Donato. An exceptional lookout point, an acropolis of the Etruscan city, in different historical periods the main events of the city’s history took place here.
Arezzo’s first fortified nucleus was built on this hill between the 9th and 11th centuries A.D. and the remains of the church of San Donato in Cremona belong to that period, while Porta Sant’Angelo is all that remains of the ancient keep built in the 14th century by bishop-count Guido Tarlati.
The design of the present fortress, a bulwark of Florentine rule during the Middle Ages, was commissioned in the early 16th century to the Florentine architects Giuliano and Antonio da Sangallo and was completed in 1540 at the behest of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I de’ Medici. It features a star-shaped plan with five bastions designed by the architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.
A wide moat surrounded the complex, accessible through three gates, one of which, ‘La Spina’, was located inside the bastion facing the city and the only one not to be heart-shaped, typical of the Medici defensive structures.
The military garrison was decommissioned at the end of the 18th century and was purchased by Count Vittorio Fossombroni in 1816, who later bequeathed it to the Municipality of Arezzo.
A place of culture and relaxation, today it is a destination for walks, and the site of art exhibitions and events.