Pierle Castle
(Height: 486 m a.s.l. - Distance: 23 Km from Umbertide; 3 Km from Lisciano Niccone). It rises on the East-slope of the Mount Maestrino, towering the fertile Valley which bears its name. The castle has a remote origin. According to an ancient tradition Pope S. Leone I Magno was born in this place. During the XI century the castle belonged to the Marchesi del Monte, as it is clearly proved by a will (October 1092) made by Marchese Enrico, while he was lying ill in his Castello di Pierle. Towards the middle of the XIV century, Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, dispossed the Marchesi del Monte and enfeoffed the Conti Oddi from Perugia. Shortly afterwards, the castle was bought by the Casali Family from Cortona. In 1731 Francesco Casali had the castle rebuilt, giving it the impossessingness which still characterises it ,even if, today, nothing but the ruins are left. Having been abandoned for years and years, the castle became a shelter for bandits and it was mainly for this reason that, in 1574, Ferdinando dei Medici ordered its destruction.