Montelupo Fiorentino

Montelupo Fiorentino
Comune
Comune di Montelupo Fiorentino
Panorama of Montelupo Fiorentino
Coat of arms
Montelupo Fiorentino Location of Montelupo Fiorentino in Italy
Coordinates: 43°44′N 11°1′E / 43.733°N 11.017°E / 43.733; 11.017Coordinates: 43°44′N 11°1′E / 43.733°N 11.017°E / 43.733; 11.017
Country	Italy
Region	Tuscany
Province / Metropolitan city	Florence (FI)
Frazioni	Ambrogiana, Botinaccio, Camaioni, Citerna, Erta, Fibbiana, La Torre, Pulica, Samminiatello, Sammontana, San Quirico, Turbone
Government
• Mayor	Paolo Masetti
Area
• Total	24.6 km2 (9.5 sq mi)
Elevation	35 m (115 ft)
Population (1 January 2015)
• Total	14,045
• Density	570/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Montelupini
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	50056
Dialing code	0571
Patron saint	St. John
Saint day	December 27
Website	Official website

Montelupo Fiorentino is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 20 kilometres (12 miles) southwest of Florence.

The area is predominantly hilly and is crossed by the river Pesa that, particularly in the municipal area, flows into the Arno river.

Human presence in the area of Montelupo dates back to the Palaeolithic era. Evidence of this are the many prehistoric sites which have been identified in the last twenty years, in the municipal area.

Testimony of human presence during the classical era recently emerged from Etruscan civilization tombs in the old town and from the discovery of a Roman villa dating from the Republican age. The place was known as Mansio ad Arnum, as evidenced in the Tabula Peutingeriana, and it is probable that in the area there was a bridge that, during ancient Rome, permitted the crossing of the river Arno.

During the 5th and 6th centuries AD, the area faced threats of barbarian invasions, and the population left the plains and relocated to the surrounding hills. This phenomenon reached its peak during the 10th century, during the time of power struggles between the great families Guidi, Cadolingi and Alberti. These families realized in the area, a dense network of military facilities, which included the towns of Capraia and Montelupo Fiorentino.

At the end of the 12th century AD, began the expansion stage of Florence in the area, which found the fierce opposition of the Counts Alberti. Beginning on the 13th century AD, the town of Montelupo Fiorentino is destroyed by the Florentines, whom, on the same site, built a walled castle - true symbol of their domination in the territory.

Towards the end of the 14th century AD, Montelupo Fiorentino (who never had the name of Malborghetto, a real romantic invention) became a "walled village" of the Florentine countryside. The walls were built in 1348 (the year of the Black Death), and the Statute of the Powers dates back to 1414.