The Castello dei Vicari in Lari is situated in the centre of the town of Lari (in the province of Pisa), an ancient medieval village that was inhabited as far back as Etruscan times. The fortress that was built around the year 1000 reached the height of its splendour in the centuries after 1400 as the site of the Florentine Vicariate. For over four centuries about a third of the current province of Pisa was governed from the Castle of Lari.

The Vicariate was abolished when the Grand Duchy of Tuscany joined the Kingdom of Italy, although a civil magistrate’s court remained in Lari until the end of the 1960s.

The current fortress is managed by the Cultural Association “Il Castello” which is redeveloping its cultural and tourist aspect by opening it up to visitors and also organising conferences and presentations.