Mastio di Bientina

The Mastio di Bientina is the keep attached to the Torre Civica. Damaged in 1944 during the Second World War, it was restored to public use by the local council in 1997.

The Mastio, which has its origins in the fourteenth century, served as the town barracks, connected as it is to a wall of the castle. Inside we find three spacious areas: on the ground floor a large room used for meetings and conferences, and on the first floor the public library, home to more than 3,000 volumes. A section of the library serves as the municipal archives, chronicling the place’s history from 1402 to 1866. Among other things, it contains the private records of certain important families of Bientina, such as the Cosci and the Gerini, now extinct.