Torre del Castellano, a solid square building considered one of the most beautiful castles in the area, is located in a position on the top of the Arno valley, north-east of Incisa and about twenty kilometers from Florence, overlooking the valley and the village (of Incisa) from a strategic and ideal position.
Torre del Castellano has no reliable sources on its ancient origins. Definite history of the Tower is drawn only from the X century, so it is believed to have been built around a Lombard watchtower (guardingus), first with a signaling function and then as garrison, hosting a small group of soldiers for the control of major roads that linked Florence to Arezzo and Rome, through the superior Valdarno.
In the XII-XVI centuries increased the strategic importance of the Tower, as it was located on the southern borders of the Republic of Florence, in an area where the power of noble feudal families such as the Counts Guidi and the Pazzi, their vassals, was still strong, and where often took refuge Florentine exiles from both sides during the struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines.
From the XIV century, the Tower lost its military function and was turned into a manor house of the Counts Castellani from which later took the name. This was the period of greatest splendor, thanks in particular to Michele Vanni of Lotto, who was a prominent figure in the life of the Florentine Republic during the second half of the century.
In 1751 the Counts Castellani were numbered among the patricians of Florence and the Tower was gradually transformed into a villa.
In the following decades, until the XX century, followed several owners that lead the Tower to a rapid decline until 1938 when the present owners entrusted the restoration to the Superintendence of Monuments of the Province of Florence. During the Second World War in the castle were recovered many statues belonging to the Uffizi museum, to protect them from the conflict. After the war the restoration work restarted.
