The castle of Monte Gualandro has always occupied an excellent strategic position, dominating Lake Trasimeno, Val di Chiana and the Trasimeno Valley. This stronghold marks the extreme boundary of the Perugian territory and stands at about 450 metres above sea level. Its very important position as a lookout (in fact, it is located along the road that connected Perugia to Arezzo /Florence / the entire Aretine plain) denounces the historical events and the continuous clashes to keep control between Perugia and the Tuscan Communes.

The poet and humanist Matteo dall’Isola Maggiore (16^th cent.) mentions Mons Gualandrius and derives its name from the abundance of milk (from the Greek word gala = milk) produced in large quantities by the flocks that grazed here.

The documented history of the castle of Monte Gualandro starts in 1202, the year in which the fortress, like many other castle-fiefdoms, came under the rule of Perugia and, specifically, was assigned to the marquises Uguccione and Guido Ranieri.

In 1238, it became the property of the Montemelini family, who were shortly to be accused of high treason with the consequent loss of all their possessions, including the castle. But it did not end there: the people of Perugia, enraged against the Montemelini, who had in the meantime fled, destroyed the castle, dispersed the furniture and extracted the corpse of Andrea de Giacomo (father of the Montemelini) from the tomb, dragging it through the streets of Perugia.

It was only in 1261 that the castle was returned to the city and its heirs, remaining, with alternating fortunes and more or less legal sales, the dowry of the Montemelini for a period of about four centuries. In 1334 we know that it was conquered; around 1393 it passed under the Casali of Cortona and Perugia sanctioned this possession on condition that the jurisdiction of civil and criminal cases remained with the City of Perugia. But in 1443 the castle returned under the Montemelini and then changed hands again in favour of the Florentines. For almost all of the 16th century and a good part of the 17th century, the Montemelini were again in possession of the fort. But in 1643 Monte Gualandro was occupied by force of arms by Ferdinand II Grand Duke of Tuscany in the invasion of the Papal States and 1678 marked the end of the Montemelini’s possession.

In the end, Pope Innocent XI put the earldom of Monte Gualandro up for sale along with the title, which ended up in the hands of Ruggiero Ranieri and his heirs, who owned it until a few years ago. Today, the entire complex is privately owned and therefore cannot normally be visited inside, but it is still worth taking a panoramic walk around the walls and enjoying the splendid view of the lake and the Tuscan plain.