The Castle of S. Michele was built by the Pisans to defend the city in the second half of the 13th Century. During the centuries the castle has been used as a house, a lazaretto, a fortress and a shelter. Today the grounds around the castle have been turned into a park. San Michele Castle was erected on the site of a monastery dedicated to the Archangel Gabriel at the start of the 13th Century as a means of defence for the city and during the plague of 1656 the castle was used as leprosarium.
