Located on top of the hill where the original settlement was, along the ancient road connecting Perugia to Lake Trasimeno and Cortona, the fortress could easily control every movement over the road axis. Its key position was so strategically important that many officials from Perugia, appointed for the collection of road tolls in the 12^th century, probably had their seat there. The tower, between the 16^th and 17^th century, lost its military role, and became property of the local community. During the 18^th century and for most of the 19^th the building was used as the municipal kennel, while the surrounding plot of land hosted the annual cattle fair. In the late 19^th century the ruins of the old structure were so deteriorated that they decided to abandon it for security measures. At the beginning of 1900 the idea of restoration works began to make its way, but many years had to pass before seeing them started, in 1983. The name of the fortress, «Torre dei Lambardi» or «Torre dei Lombardi», probably came from oral tradition, people started calling it that way at the end of 1600 in memory of Marcello Lombardi, who was killed there. One of the theories about the origins of its name states that the word “Lambardi” generally referred to nobles in rural communities during the Late Middle Ages, and that “Lombardi” is just an evolution of it.

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