Scarperia was founded with the name of Castel San Barnaba in 1306 by the Florentine Republic in order to oppose the Feudal power of the Ubaldinis. Soon after the village was called Scarperia, due to its particular geographic position, at the foot of the Appennines.
On the main square of the town there is the imposing Palazzo dei Vicari, a XIV century structure, stark and turreted on the side facing the square and fortified in the side behind. The façade, which is decorated with the coats of arms of the different families that held office there throughout the ages, bears witness to the power of the Medici. It is now the home of an extremely precious historical archive, and that of the Museum of the Cutting Blades, a century old trade of which Scarperia boasts hundreds of years of highly esteemed production.
In front of Palazzo dei Vicari you can find the Oratory of the Madonna di Piazza, built in 1320: here, according to the tradition, the solemn swearing of the Vicars took place. At the center of the chapel on the ground floor we find a late-Gothic tabernacle with spiral columns from around 1490. The structure houses the Madonna di Piazza, according to tradition discovered in the piazza's well.
Also worth visiting are the Oratory of the Madonna dei Terremoti and that of the Madonna del Vivaio, on the road leading to Sant'Agata. Nearby stands the Torrino: a medieval tower surrounded by a charming Italian-style garden.
The Propositura of Santi Jacopo and Filippo, once part of an Augustinian convent (in fact a part of the XV century cloister is still visible), preserves important frescoes and a wooden crucifix by Sansavino.
The Parish Church of Sant'Agata is set along the via Sant'Agata, one of the most important route during the Middle Age, linking Florence to Bologna. It was built before the XI century and it is one of the most prestigious religious building of the Mugello area. interior preserves a baptismal box dating to 1175 constructed with the pulpit panels and paintings by Jacopo di Cione and Bitti di Lorenzo.