Montalbano Castle, Medieval castle in Florence, Italy

Montalbano Castle, also called rocca Tedalda, stands on the right bank of the Arno in the Rovezzano area of Florence, on an east-facing hill. It began as a medieval stronghold of the Tedaldi family and was heavily altered over the centuries; part was demolished in the early 19th century for structural instability. Laudadio Della Ripa rebuilt it in the later 19th century as a villa in the guise of the old fortilizio.

According to tradition reported by Agostino Ademollo and confirmed by Giovanni Villani, the castle was older than Florence itself: in 768 Charlemagne stayed at the castle of Taldo Tedaldi for Christmas. In 1527 Bartolo di Leonardo Tedaldi rented it out; his 1538 will left half to the church of Sant'Andrea a Rovezzano. Part was demolished in the early 19th century, and Laudadio Della Ripa rebuilt it as a villa in the second half of that century.

The name Montalbano comes from the hill facing east, so the sun rises behind it (monte Albano, the mountain of dawn); an earlier name, rocca de' Tedaldi, survives in a nearby street name. The main hall keeps a black-and-white checkerboard cotto floor laid under Fascism, and a deconsecrated chapel with bell tower remains from the period when the castle housed a convent of former prostitutes.

The castle stands on the right bank of the Arno in the Rovezzano area, on a hill facing east, and is reached by the street named after its old name, Rocca de' Tedaldi. The central body and other parts now serve as tourist accommodation, while the right wing houses Misseri Studio. The chapel with its bell tower survives, deconsecrated a few decades ago by the parish priest of Sant'Andrea a Rovezzano.

In the 1960s the castle was bought by Studio K, one of the leading production houses of Italy's Carosello TV advertising era, which moved in after the 1966 flood. Its cellars later hosted toy commercials for DAG, and the right wing now houses Misseri Studio, founded by Francesco Misseri, creator of the stop-motion series Mio Mao and Mofy.