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The origin of Chianni is definitely Etruscan, considering the recent discovery of tombs that testify to the period.

The origins of his name are uncertain instead, perhaps was Clanius, an etruscan Latin name, or Clango, which mean a place covered with forests good for hunting.

The village was a medieval castle fought over the Bishop of Volterra and the Republic of Pisa before moving permanently in Florence; here born the preacher Jordan Rivalto (1260-1311) who was beatified in 1838 by Pope Gregory XVI in August 23, 1833.

Among the monuments to visit are the Church of San Donato, the current parish church; in Rivalto, the Santuario della Madonna del Carmine dating from the eighteenth century, the Church of Saints Fabian and Sebastian, and the Oratorio Society of the Holy Cross.

The most important traditional events are represented by the village fair, on the first Tuesday after mid-August, the Festival of wild boar, every second and third weekend of November, one of the oldest in Tuscany; in October Rivalto is destination for lovers of “marrone”, a special kind of chestnut.

Rivalto

photo by di Giovanni Cantone

The village of Rivalto, originally a fortress during the High Middle Ages, owes its name to the river Rio Alto that originated nearby.

Notable religious architecture consisting of the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Carmine, dating from the eighteenth century, the Church of Sts Fabian and Sebastian and the Oratorio Society of the Holy Cross.

Here was born Giordano from Pisa (1260-1311), Italian priest known as Blessed Jordan Rivalto.

Rivalto is also known for the traditional Festival of Chestnut, the second Sunday in October, organized by a local association.

The “marrone” of Rivalto is a variety of chestnut, produced not in large quantities in the territory, genuineness, with special organoleptic characteristics.

During the festival you can taste local products based on chestnuts such as roasted chestnuts and “ballote” (boiled chestnuts), the typical desserts such as chestnut, wild truffles, the “slice of autumn”, the “red wine bowl”, the “rum and chocolate fantasies” and the “grandmother cream”.

Fauglia is an ancient hilltop village, full of history and traditions, which saw the destruction of his castle in 1433 by Florence during the battles against Pisa.

Afterwards, the old village center, has gradually become as you can see it today, with most of the buildings built since 1600 up to 1800, a period of greater economic prosperity; the surrounding area offers some of the most breathtaking panoramic views of the Pisan hills.

There are many points of interest, such as the Church of San Lorenzo, the town hall and the old church tower; to visit also the underground storage of grain, recently found in Piazza del Mercato.

Fauglia is known for its villas where they stayed nobles, literary man and artists; among these, Villa Trovarsi belonged to the famous actress Marta Abba, who named it in memory of a play by Pirandello dedicated to her. To report, two museums related to well-known artists: Alvaro Marioni, painter and carver, and Giorgio Kiernek, post-Macchiaioli painter who have portrayed that countryside with his paintings.

Among the events: in June, the Festival of soup; in September, “Di-vin Fauglia” (of-wine Fauglia); 1st Tuesday of August and the 3rd Tuesday of October, the peasant Fair.

Kienerk Museum

The birth of the museum, opened in 2009, was made possible by the donation of artworks to the Community of Fauglia, from Giorgio Kienerk’s daughter, Victoria.

Victoria, not only personally rearranged the archive completing the photographic documentation and the literature about the father, but has also contributed to the choice of environment and location of the works.

The Kienerk collection consists of sculptures, reliefs and sculptures in the round, mostly oil paintings, some crayons, numerous drawings, notebooks with ink and pencil sketches, engravings and lithographs; overall it is about one hundred and thirty pieces, as well as notebooks.

The works cover the entire artistic career of Giorgio Kienerk, from early production to maturity, and are testimony to the many interests of the artist, who has dedicated himself to sculpture, painting, graphics, illustration and also applied art.

In the museum is also a cell in which it is reproduced a working corner en plein air, with objects and tools of the artist, (including the stand, the seat, the sunshade, the palette) and old pictures (of the artist and family) on the walls.

The history of Montecatini (Castrum Montis Leonis in latin, before the eleventh century), is linked to the Camporciano copper mine, already used in Etruscan period and in 1800 the largest in Europe, remained open until 1907; after closing in 1911, it began the rock salt deposit exploitation by the Belgian company Solvay.

In the charming old town are the Castle Square, dominated by the massive tower Belforti (sec. XI), which was the venue of the Captains of Volterra and Florence before moving to the French barons de Rochefort; two holes work as telescope to the “Mastio of Volterra” and the “Fortress Sillana”.

On the same square facing the church of San Biagio and the fourteenth-century Praetorian Palace, venue of the Center of Documentation, and part of a net that includes the mining site of Caporciano and the Mining Museum.

Worth to visit some medieval villages like Querceto, were every summer there is an international piano festival; Sassa, perched on a hill from which you can admire a beautiful panorama; Miemo, known for wild boar, roe deer and mouflon breeding.

Among the food and wine events: in May, “The flavors of the valley” and the “September of Montecatini”.

The Mining Museum

The history of Montecatini is linked to the ancient copper mines of Camporciano, remained active until 1907, of which they remain ruins near the village.

The Etruscans were the first to exploit the plentiful natural resources of this area, using the precious ore to forge tools and decorative ornaments.

To remember these important historical events, it was made a park museum of industrial archeology, in the past mining area and in what remains of the buildings.

Visits allows to appreciate the many riches of these places: history, natural beauty and the testimony of the interaction between man and territory.

The complex of mine tells the story of men, their industriousness and resourcefulness that often turned them from workers to craftsmen and real artists.

The museum offers: guided tours for the whole of the mine and the Pozzo Alfredo from where you went down to over 300 meters deep for the extraction of copper; educational and entertainment activities for children, such as “The day of the miner” to learn about the mine playing.

The history of Monteverdi began in 754 with the founding of the Abbey of St. Peter in Palazzolo by benedictine monks led by Lombard St. Walfredo, whose remains are preserved in the Oratory of the Blessed Sacrament chapel built in 1751.

Subject from Florence and the lordship of Piombino, submitted by Florentines in 1472 during the conquest of Volterra, the village was invaded up to 1814 by the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte, and then, in 1815, returning to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Inside the village, of medieval origin, the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle preserves in some parts the original structure, especially a black crucifix sculpted in ‘600 by Cosimo Daddi.

Monteverdi is located a few kilometers from the Natural Reserve of Monterufoli-Caselli, a destination for trekking and cycling lovers, thanks to the paths through Mediterranean woods and streams.

Worth visiting the ancient village of Canneto, surrounded by walls.

Among the events, every May 1, the traditional festival of Maggerini, which draws its origins from pagan rites celebrated to ensure the prosperity of the harvest.

Benedictine monastery of St. Peter in Palazzuolo

The foundation of the Benedictine monastery dates back to 754 and is linked to the figure of the noble Lombard son of the gastaldo of Pisa Ratgauso Ratchausi, Wilfrido (San Walfredo), considered the founder of the Gherardesca.

It was built on the site of Palazzuolo where he was a Roman villa and a temple of the goddess Bellona; it is uncertain if the Roman settlement was followed by a Lombard settlement, as the name Palatiolum would imply; but the marble frame with Lombard node bas-relief that was found here, almost certainly belonged to the St. Peter monastery.

In the eleventh century the monastery acquired more importance: in 1179 it was moved to its current site in Poggio Badia where you can still see the ruins; in 1298 became Vallombrosan, later in 1561 was abandoned, when it requested the transfer of the monks inside the castle of Monteverdi, provided that it maintained the title of San Pietro.

The interior consisted of a single big nave ending in a single apse, the front and the roof have disappeared, while remaining parts of the left side and the transept; the wall surface is in blocks of limestone, perfectly cut and committed, that on the right side alternate two-color with bands of brick.

(cover photo by Giovanni Cantone)

Orciano origins, etymologically “Ursio ground”, medieval castle already documented in the eighth century, remains uncertain; in the most accepted opinion it has arisen as a feud due to a family of Lombard origin.

It is assumed that Orciano has followed the luck of the other villages of the Pisan Hills, falling under the dominion of Florence in the ‘400, with the final defeat of Pisa, and then conformed to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany regime.

To visit the fifteenth-century Church of San Michele, within which is a copy of the hagiography canvas of Raphael’s St. Michael the Archangel.

The territory is characterized by clay hills covered with layers of tuff with some shrubbery, it is full of fossilized remains of marine invertebrates and vertebrates that lived millions of years ago during the Pliocene, when half of Tuscany was submerged by the sea waters. Orciano is probably the most important place in Tuscany from a paleontological point of view, particularly for the remains of vertebrates including bony fishes, cartilaginous fishes such as chelonians sharks, carnivores such as seals and cetaceans such as dolphins and whales.

San Michele Church

The church was rebuilt after the disastrous earthquake of 1846 that devastated the country and the whole area of the lower hills of Pisa.

The previous building dated back to the early eighteenth century, as documented the beautiful polychrome marble altar that we can see today; however, a chapel of Saint Michael existed since at least the fifteenth century.

The front and interior of the present church are in late neoclassical style with transept and dome supported by four columns.

On the walls are some hagiographic paintings: among these, we note a copy of “San Michele Arcangelo” by Raphael.

(cover photo by Giovanni Cantone)