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Gello

Gello is an hamlet of the community of Palaia, it is in province of Pisa.

HISTORY

The toponym derives from the latin Agellus and the hamlet shows up as a little medieval village, it is situated on the top of a terrain of clay between Palaia, Colleoli and Partino. Gello is mentioned for the first time in the book of the churches of Lucca in 1260, for the presence of a church dedicated to San Lorenzo. In XIII century the hamlet belonged to the vicarage of Montefoscoli.

In 1833 the hamlet counted 191 citizens.

Monuments and place of interest

Church of San Lorenzo is dating back to XIII century and it is remembered thanks to a document of the diocese of Lucca in 1260. It fall back to the parochial territory of San Martino and Palaia. It shows up in Romanesque plain, it was continuously modified during the centuries. Inside of it is situated a Madonna col Bambino of the master of charity, it was transferred a church of Saint Andrea at Palaia.

Orciatico

Orciatico develop itself in Valdera and it’s brush against with the torrent Fosce at North whereas it is brush against the torrent Foscecchia in the south.

In the vicinity of the hamlet, some scientists did investigations on the natural events of the emission of carbon dioxide, they were just documented by Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti in XVIII century.

HISTORY

The hamlet born under the dominion of Lajatico, it remained under the dominion of it since the XII century, when both of the castles were assigned to the bishop Ildebrando Pannocchieschi of Volterra. In 1434 the stronghold of Orciatico was dismantled by the citizens of Florence.

In 1833 the hamlet counted 687 citizens.

La Sterza

La Sterza is an hamlet in the middle of the community of Lajatico and Terricciola.

HISTORY

The history of the territory of La Sterza is linked to the unknown district of Pava. It mentioned in two documents edit the 1st August 1109 and 21st June 1112 at Volterra. The hamlet in the early medieval passed to Pannocchieschi in 1186.

Here it was situated the church of San Giovanni, it counted five churches under his jurisdiction. The church will be well-known as Pitti’s church by the name of Florentine family, they were owner of the estate. What remains of this hamlet is an ancient farmhouse, today it is the headquarter of a farm and agritourism, whereas the modern hamlet has evolved at the slope in the beginning of XIX century. La Sterza shows up as a modern agricultural hamlet, where there are mainly farm artisan job of the community of Lajatico.

Villa of Spedaletto

The Villa of Spedaletto (Lajatico) was one of the Ville of Lorenzo the Magnificent, he made it rebuild and he often stayed there. Although it was ceded after his death, it is one of the Medici’s villa.

Spedaletto is named for “spedale” of hospitalier knight of Altopascio situated in the surroundings of Via Francigena. This “spedale dei Santi ippolito e Cassiano” was granted to Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1486.

The zone was strategic for i Medici, because Volterra was conquered for his precious cave in 1472. In the vicinity of it there are hot springs of Bagno a Morba, the mother of Lorenzo has rented them. The family’s main branch of Medici suffered illnesses to the gout. Numerous were the sojourns of Lorenzo since one year before his die in 1492.

The farm of Spedaletto included twenty estate and it was reorganized by Lorenzo. The transformation to “casa da signore” of the main building was done between the 1487 and 1491.

HISTORY

The project seems it is connected to Simone del Pollaiolo dubbed “Cronaca”, he stayed at Spedaletto in 1490. But the villa had a easy structure, the magnificent was given by the plan of pictorial decorations with the Florentine painters who they were employed to the realizations of frescos, but today these frescos are lost. The mayor loggia and the salon, according to Giorgio Vasari, Filippino Lippi, Pietro Perugino e Sandro Botticelli had worked on it. The unique description more detailed reached to us was the pictorial cycle of Ghirlandaio.

After the death of Lorenzo in 1492 the villa was sold by his son “Piero il Fatuo” to Franceschetto Cybo in 1494. Then it followed the fates of the family since 1606, when Alberico I Cybo-Malaspina sold it to senator Bartolomeo Corsini. The Corsini are the actual owner of villa, their emblem stand out on the facade of building.

Unfortunately in XVII century the frescos were damaged by blaze. Today we have only scarce traces of them.

Santo Pietro Belvedere

HISTORY

The precise era of the constitution of Santo Pietro Belvedere is not clear, but we can collocate them around the II century d.C.. The first testament of his existence are date back to 1165.

The hamlet was known because there was a castle, with a triplex surrounded building and a tower. His position was tall respect for the surroundings countryside, it was an excellent vantage point. In 1510 all the Pisan territory passed to the control of Florence and to Medici’s family. Except of an epidemic of plague in 1631, we haven’t informations of relevant events happen in Santo Pietro since the Napoleonic conquest (1796). In this period the hamlet passed to the community of Capannoli.

In 1861 Santo Pietro becomes part of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1870 becomes part of Italy’s unification. We have font of fallen citizens of Santo Pietro in both World War. During the World War II the territory of Valdera was scene of bombardments and battles between Germans and Americans. During these bombardments the oratory of “Compagnia del Santissimo Sacramento” was destroyed. Between the surrounding hills we can notice the shelter of citizens where they can be protected during the bombardments: many of these shelters was used successively as basement.

The toponym Belvedere was added to the name of the hamlet during the Fascist regime, 18th October 1929 because the government had decided to call “Santo Pietro” the post office of Mussolinia in Sicily(Catania), and the name of the Tuscan hamlet had to be changed in order to prevent misunderstandings.

Villa Masi

Now the Villa masi is private, the villa Masi is along the road that conduce from Capannoli to Santo Pietro Belvedere.

HISTORY

The villa is registered in the valuation of Capannoli in 1580 as property of the noble Florentine Berzighell’s family, and it constitute the most remarkable building of a village that developed between XVI and XVII century. The villa own the annexed chapel of Annunziat’, it was realized by the architect Felice Palma.

AT the begging of 1600 the farm was transformed into villa. The aspect of the actual villa is the result of restoration ordered by Francesco Del Rosso and it was done by the Pisan architect Niccolò Stassi. To him the exaltation is owned by the central part of front, it is remarked by the vertical tendency by lesene and by finial with the clock, it remember the internal front of Certosa di Calci. The chapel have a central symmetry in the project, it remind various Renaissance architectural typologies. The altar as Filippo Baldinucci remember, it house a bas relief designed by the famous sculptor Desiderio da Settignano, it describe the Beata Vergine con nostro Signore e l’arcangelo Gabriele.

You have to see the roman sarcophagus under the portico and there is also a bas relief of marble on the front of chapel. Inside of it there are statues in terracotta attributed to “Cieco di Gambassi” and one copy of the Greek statue called dell’Arrotino.

Nature Preserve of Monte Serra of Sotto

DESCRIZIONE

The nature preserve of Monte Serra of Sotto extends for 400 hectares on the oriental south slope of Monti Pisani and on the north-west hamlet of Buti. It include the oriental slope of Monte Cimone and the occidental slope of Monte Passatoio.

The presence of an extend wooded area has allowed to the formation of some kinds of mushrooms like the Calocybe leucocephala and Russula chloroides.

The presence of Listera ovata is to remember, the Anacamptis laxiflora and between the cryptogam plants like Spagnum; between the vascular plants we can see le Drosere, but there is also the Rhynchospora alba.
From the point of view fauna here is present a diversified range of species: the lizard “muraiola”, the natrice from the collar, aesculapian snake, green whip snake, the salamanders. Between the mammals we count the garden dormouse and the hazel dormouse, but there is also the porcupine, common vole and bat.

Stazione Relitta di Pino Laricio

DESCRIPTION

The protected area of “Stazione Relitta di Pino Laricio”, it was instituted by the authority council of Buti in 1997. From 1999 it was written into the list of the Regionals Protected Areas. It is ample 124 hectares at the east slope of Monte Pisano, it is delimited at nord by Monte Cucco. L’A.N.P.I.L. was instituted for the safeguard of somatotype of the “stazione relitta del Pino laricio”.

The specimens of Corsican pine grow surrounded by a vegetation composed by trees of maritime pine, chestnut, oak, bay tree, acacia and the sorbus and all area upholster characteristic importance from the perspective of botanical and naturalistic.

In the area exist an ancient cave of slate one time it was utilized for the upholsteries of the roofs, a woods of naturalistic merit and damp areas where the white-troated dipper nest; it is also suppose the presence of various amphibious species like the fire salamander. The fire salamander represents an interesting sample of herpetology fauna.

Castle of Nocco

DESCRIPTION

The castle of Nocco took his name by Nocco Bonfigli, because he defended the hamlet in XIV century. He substituted the two strongholds that in the medieval they controlled the road between Buti and Vicopisano. Castle of Nocco indeed was part of an ample difensive system of the territory. It was aligned at east with castello di Sant’Agata, at west with the fortification of Monte Roccali. Today we can see only the rests of this fortification, they are only an accumulations of stone. The hamlet has increased the characteristics of the medieval hamlet, but of the city wall remains only the foundation.

Between the ruins of medieval church dedicated to San Michele Arcangelo, it was rediscovered in XIX century a tombstone with the sign Ara Cerasi, it made suppose the presence of an ancient temple of Cerere, roman goddess of Mass. From the ancient religious building are still visible the perimeter stone wall, they surround the lateral stone altars and the zone of presbytery.

Tonini’s Castle

DESCRIPTION

Tonini’s Castle is one the most ancient residential nucleus of Buti, it appear in X century. At the beginning existed only a fortify tower of sighting, it occupied the north part of hamlet. Then the citizens began to build the first houses along the road and in consequence of it, they realized that they have to build new defensive. The structure had three towers that controlled all the access, one is still visible along the street Marianini. During the wars between Pisa, Lucca and Firenze, Tonini’s castle was place of clash and it has suffered lot of devastitions.

When Buti wasn’t any more under the Florentine control, it was started a rebuild phase on the basis of new Reinaissance parameters. The castle Schiavini Cassi was built in 1628 by Tonini’s family, and it kept her structure since the first years of 1900 when following a restoration it assumes the typical aspect of a medieval castle with the towers, merlatura and double-arched windows.

Tonini’s castle is a fortification that control and protected the ancient hamlet of Buti and it’s still present the access door of hamlet. The castle be subjected to a restoration in the first years of 1900, when his massive bulk were detached the gothic double-arched windows.

The ancient district keep again the numerous road and buildings that reminds to the ancient and medieval atmosphere.