Castellare degli Ugurgieri is a fortress-house located in the historic centre of Siena between Via San Vigilio and Via Angiolieri.
These fortress-houses were built within or just outside the city walls by the many families that urbanised Siena around the 11th-12th centuries and were a smaller copy of the castles where they lived in the countryside.
Castellare degli Ugurgieri in particular is a medieval fortified nucleus, dating back to the 13th century and consisting of tall buildings arranged in a circle around a central courtyard.
It represents an extraordinary testimony to the process of the formation of the city, strategically located along Via Francigena. It belonged to the Ugurgieri family, wealthy feudal lords whose origins can be traced back to the great feudal consortia of the Berardenghi of Salic origin.
Today, the buildings of the fortress-house are located in the Contrada della Civetta and they also house a museum with valuable medieval Renaissance majolica.