The Monuments

Scarperia is one of the most interesting historic centres in Mugello, an inland Tuscan valley which the Apennine passes connect to Bologna and Emilia-Romagna. The hamlet, which was founded as a Florentine outpost along the road to Bologna, later became an important centre for trade and a halting place, given its strategic position. Today it is still crossed and divided into two by the Bologna road, around which the buildings have created an urban fabric enclosed by the walls and interspersed by square towers. The heart of the fortified settlement is the Palazzo dei Vicari, a residential palace dating back to the fourteenth century, stark and turreted on the side looking onto the square and a fortress at the rear. Two large walls forming a vast courtyard connect it to the keep, itself part of the western tract of the city walls, which unfortunately have only been well preserved in some sections. The entire palace building has escarped walls at the bottom, and a slim tower with merlons and corbels rises up from the right corner of the facade facing the square. The restoration work done after the 1929 earthquake has made it similar to the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The facade is decorated with the many blazons of the series of Vicars who superseded each other in governing the town, revealing how sought after this appointment was by the most powerful Florentines. Each new Vicar was obliged to leave the emblem of his family coat-of arms. The blazons in glazed terracotta made by Della Robbia and Benedetto Buglioni in their workshops are of particular interest. The inside is decorated with finishes and frescoes from the Renaissance period, in stark contrast to the rugged external appearance of the palace. On the upper floor, in the first room is a Madonna with Child and Saints (1554) from the school of Ghirlandaio.
The Palazzo dei Vicari which can now be fully visited after its recent restoration, looks onto the main square of the town where there are also two religious buildings worth note.

The first is the Propositura, founded by Frate Napeoleone dei Galluzzi in 1326 and dedicated to the saints Jacob and Philip. The church, enlarged in 1870 and redesigned by the architect Mario Falcini, contains a marble roundel by Benedetto di Maiano, a tabernacle by Mino da Fiesole and a crucifix by Sansovino, as well as many paintings. The other building worth note is the Oratorio della Madonna di Piazza, dating back to around 1320; here the solemn ceremony of the swearing in of the Vicars took place, during which they received the oath of obedience from the Podestà and took office.
In the centre of the chapel on the ground floor is a late Gothic tabernacle with spiral columns dating back to about 1490. The building is home to the Madonna di Piazza by Jacopo del Casentino, found, according to tradition, in the well of the square.
Also worth note is the Oratorio della Madonna dei Terremoti and that of the Madonna del Vivaio on the road which leads to S. Agata. In the neighbouring area is the Torrino: a large medieval tower surrounded by a picturesque Italian garden.

Near the regional capital is the hamlet of S. Agata, dominated by a XII century Romanesque parish, which is considered the most important religious building in the whole of the Mugello area. The church is built from coarsely cut limestone with parts in sandstone and green serpentine and has an unusual wooden gable roof.
Lastly, also worth a visit is the village of Fagna with its parish-church, mentioned in documents as early as 1018 and containing many valuable paintings.

The The Knife Museum is situated in the Palazzo dei Vicari
Opening times of the Palazzo dei Vicari and The Knife Museum:
Summer opening times from the 1 st of June to the 15 th of September
Wednesday to Friday – 3.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
Saturday and holidays – 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.- and 3.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
Winter opening times from the 16 September to the 1 st of June
Saturday and holidays – 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.- and 3.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.

For groups and school visits also open at other times by booking with Pro Lo Scarperia, tel. 055/8468165 Fax: 055/8468862 e-mail: info@proloscarperia.com

© photograph by Sandro Santioli