Tuscany · Lucca
Montecarlo
A walled hill village above the Lucca plain, founded by Emperor Charles IV in 1333 and named for him, surrounded by twenty wineries.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Montecarlo is on our list
It holds Bandiera Arancione and Città del Vino.
The nearest town with a letter is Montecatini-Terme, No. 14, 20 min by car.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 43 min from Pisa
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 4,402
- J10°
- F13°
- M15°
- A18°
- M22°
- J27°
- J31°
- A31°
- S26°
- O21°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Montecarlo sits on an isolated hill above the Lucca plain, looking south toward the Valdinievole. Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV founded it in 1333 after liberating Lucca from Pisan rule, on a site previously called Vivinaia for the wine roads that crossed the hill. The name Monte di Carlo, Charles's mountain, has held since.
The walled centro storico is still ringed by its fourteenth-century defensive walls, with the Fortezza del Cerruglio rising above the highest point. Wine production has been documented here since Roman times; the first tavern keepers selling Trebbiano in barrels appear in records in 1371. The Montecarlo DOC was established in 1969, the white blends Trebbiano with French varieties including Sémillon and Pinot Gris, and roughly twenty wineries operate within the commune, a notable density for a population under 4,500.
How to get there
From Pisa (PSA), about 57 min by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 1 h 34 min away.
By car from the center of Pisa 43 min or Florence 53 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Pisa, Florence or Bologna?
Coming by train into Prato Centrale? Montecarlo is about 39 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Pisa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Fortezza del Cerruglio
Fourteenth-century fortress on the highest point of the hill, expanded by Castruccio Castracani and the Florentines in the fifteenth century.
Centro storico
Walled medieval village founded by Charles IV in 1333, still inside its original defensive perimeter along Via Roma.
Teatro dei Rassicurati
Small eighteenth-century theater with 95 seats and a horseshoe plan, inaugurated in 1795 and still used for the autumn season.
Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
Fourteenth-century parish church inside the walls, with a Crucifixion attributed to the school of the Lucchese painter Berlinghieri.
Strada del Vino di Montecarlo
Wine road circuit linking roughly twenty wineries that produce the Montecarlo DOC, a Trebbiano-led white and a Sangiovese-led red.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Antico Ristorante ForassiepiRistorante
Antico Ristorante Forassiepi holds one Gambero Rosso fork (78/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Locanda Agricola PosapianoAgriturismo
A Slow Food snail for Locanda Agricola Posapiano, and a Gambero Rosso listing.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Montecarlo is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 4,402, with Altopascio (16,099 people) 7 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Lucca, a city of 89,002, is 29 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 4,402, down 0.9% since 2015
- Nearest city Lucca, 29 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Pescia, 11 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,050 to €1,500 per m² to buy, €4.00 to €6.00 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 87% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Florence airport (FLR), 45 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Florence, 53 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Morocco and Romania, against 9% across Italy. 22 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany and France. There are 239 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 22% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Lucca province ranks 58th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Pescia, 11 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Pisa, 32 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Camaiore, 29 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Florence, 49 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Bilingual Preschool and Primary School Mimosa, 12 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Tuscany spends about €2,410 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €770 a year for water, on the Tuscany average. In Lucca, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.30 and a meal in a pizzeria €10.85.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 4% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 15% in a high or medium one. 4% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
MONTECARLO DOC
1969 DOC for a Trebbiano-French white blend and a Sangiovese-led red, with around twenty wineries inside the commune.
FORTEZZA DEL CERRUGLIO
Fourteenth-century fortress at the top of the walled hill, expanded by Castruccio Castracani and the Florentines.
CHARLES IV
Founded in 1333 by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV after he ended Pisan rule over Lucca; the name means Charles's Mountain.
Common questions
- What is Montecarlo known for?
- Montecarlo is a walled hill village at 163 meters above the Lucca plain, founded by Emperor Charles IV in 1333 and named for him, surrounded by twenty wineries.
- Where is Montecarlo?
- Montecarlo is a comune in the province of Lucca, in Tuscany.
- What is the nearest airport to Montecarlo?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Florence (FLR), about 45 min by car.
- Can you get to Montecarlo without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Pisa to Montecarlo?
- About 43 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Montecarlo?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Montecarlo?
- Cormons, Peccioli and Vicopisano.
- How many people live in Montecarlo?
- 4,402 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Montecarlo a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Montecarlo is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Altopascio, 7 min). The nearest city, Lucca, is 29 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Pescia, 11 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 87% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 163 m
- Population: 4,402
- Surface area: 15.67 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Montecarlo appears in
- The 6 best towns with a serious restaurant in the province of LuccaLucca provinceserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 4,402 residents
- The best small towns you can reach by train in ToscanaTuscanyby trainsmall6 towns · smallest 2,479 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train within an hour of FlorenceNear Florenceby trainwithin 60 min7 towns · smallest 4,402 residents · closest 24 min away
- The 8 best towns you can reach by train in the province of LuccaLucca provinceby train8 towns · smallest 4,402 residents
- The best small hill towns with a serious restaurant in TuscanyTuscanyhill townserious restaurantsmall9 towns · smallest 1,137 residents
- The best small wine towns that eat well in TuscanyTuscanywineeats wellsmall9 towns · smallest 1,421 residents
Featured on
Montecarlo appears on 3 themed picks from our Collections:
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 14.
Montecatini-Terme
Province: Pistoia
Eleven thermal springs in a Liberty-style park at the foot of the Apennines.
20 min by car
- Written about. No. 21.
Pistoia
Province: Pistoia
Italy's nursery capital and the medieval Tuscan rival that gave its name to the pistol, a quietly extraordinary centro storico 30 minutes from Florence by train and Italy's Capital of Culture 2017.
27 min by car
- Written about. No. 12.
Lucca
Province: Lucca
The provincial capital ringed by four kilometers of intact sixteenth-century walls, birthplace of Puccini and the only fully walled Italian city of its scale.
30 min by car
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 24 km away
Arno Corridor: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The Arno Corridor guide came out of the letter. Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Read the guide: The working road from Florence to the sea. 8 towns, the drive and train times, the months, where to eat and sleep.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.