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Churches and Ancient Walls in Campi Bisenzio near Florence

The surviving city walls of Campi enclose the Magisterial Palace whose facade is adorned with numerous coats of arms of podestà and embellished with 13th century frescoes. Beyond the walls you can admire “La Rocca” (the fortress), an observation post on the bridge on the Bisenzio, where an impending angular tower stands. It is a powerful structure with a quadrangular plan which culminates in a partially hidden gallery.

The parish church of S. Stefano, located inside the city walls, dating back to the 1st century, maintains the three-nave plan of a basilica and the hut shaped facade. It is built of stone and limestone. Villa Montalvo, surrounded by two large gardens and a park, is comprised of two quadrangular bodies and a lemon conservatory. A well surmounted by a stone lion can be seen on the ground floor.

The church of St. John the Baptist, located on the outskirts of the town at the service area of the Autostrada del Sole motorway, was designed by the architect Giovanni Michelucci in 1960 and is better known as the “Motorway Church”. The building has an original tent shaped configuration which simulates the wayward mobility of peoples and has a copper roof covering and a three-beam belltower.

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