Larciano is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Pistoia in the Italian region of Tuscany. The town hall is located in San Rocco.
Larciano is about 50 kilometers west of Florence and about 15 kilometers south of Pistoia.
Larciano borders the following municipalities: Cerreto Guidi (FI), Fucecchio (FI), Lamporecchio (PT), Monsummano Terme (PT), Ponte Buggianese (PT), Serravalle Pistoiese (PT).
Geography
Territory Larciano is located in the Valdinievole area, on the Montalbano slopes and it borders the Fucecchio Marsh.
History The name of Larciano results from the latinization of the Etruscan name Larthial, which was the possessive genitive of the male name Larth. Larth is the proper name of an Etruscan fighter whose tomb, dating back to the year 340BCE, was discovered in 1870 in Tarquinia (a municipality in the Lazio region, Italy).
Another hypothesis focuses on a "praedium" (farm), possibly donated to a Roman soldier who had fought in the wars against the Ligurians. Italian words which end in "-ano" is typical of the Roman settlements which arose from a "praedium".
Finally, a third hypothesis, suggests that the toponym derives from "larch", since in the past the area was rich in larch woods.
In 941 the toponym was presented as Arsianus.
The history of Larciano is based on the history of the area named nowadays Larciano Castello.
By the middle of the tenth century, Larciano belonged to the Guidi family thanks to a donation that Ranieri and Guido, Count Tegrimo's sons, made to the cathedral and to the bishop of Pistoia. Later, the castle situated in Larciano was confirmed to the Guidis by Arrigo VI and Federico II.
In 1225 the sons of Guido Guerra, who was the count of Modigliana (a municipality in Emilia-Romagna), sold Larciano, along with Cecina, Casi and Collecchio, to the municipality of Pistoia for 6,000 lire. Due to its position, Larciano became one of the cornerstones of the defensive system of Pistoia in the so-called “low part of the mountains”. In fact, this denomination used to be referred to the western slope of the Montalbano area: this explains the decision of the city to strengthen its walls and other defense works.
In 1302, during the war between the Ghibellines coming from Pistoia against the Guelphs from Florence and Lucca, Larciano was conquered immediately after the surrender of Serravalle. However, in 1310 the town was reconquered together with other territories lost by Pistoia, upon the payment of 10,000 gold florins. Around the year 1391, the castle became a solid base organized by Pistoia and Florence, with the same purpose of protecting themselves by the danger of a possible offensive in Tuscany by Gian Galeazzo Visconti.
In 1401 Florence took possession of Larciano and the whole countryside; consequently Larciano became the seat of one of the four Podestà’s seat in which the territory around Pistoia was organized. Among the Podestà, the most famous was Francesco Ferrucci. Subsequently, Larciano and Serravalle were put together in the same Podestà for the will of the Medici family. In 1772 Serravalle became the sole seat of the Podestà’s seat, while in 1774 Larciano and Lamporecchio were gathered.
It was only on the 1st of July 1897 that Larciano obtained the separation from Lamporecchio and it became an independent municipality. It was composed of the hamlets of Biagiotti, Biccimurri, Castelmartini, Cecina, Larciano Castello and San Rocco, which still houses the Town Hall.
Honours Italian gold medal bar
"During the last world conflict, this municipality of approximately five thousand two hundred inhabitants suffered one of the most brutal and atrocious retaliation by the Nazis troops, who slaughtered one hundred and seventy-five unarmed citizens, above all women, young people and children. Guided by a deep faith in a better, free and democratic country, the locals participated in the struggle against Nazi-fascism, giving a great example of exceptional self-denial, firmness and patriotism." – 23 August 1944
Monuments and places of interest
Religious buildings
San Rocco Church Pieve of San Silvestro San Donnino Church San Niccolò Church
Civil buildings
Villa Banchieri
Military buildings
Larciano Castle
Natural areas
Fucecchio Marsh
Other
Monument to the martyrs of the Fucecchio Marsh. It was inaugurated in September 2002 in Castelmartini, where one of the bloodiest massacres, known as the massacre of the Fucecchio Marsh, was committed by the Nazis after the armistice. It is located in via Francesca. It is a Carrara marble work made by Gino Terreni from Empoli. The former President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, was present at the inauguration. There are seven preparatory works, including the original plaster of the monument to the martyrs of the Fucecchio Marsh, created and donated by Gino Terreni, at the new Centre for Research, Documentation and Promotion of the Fucecchio Marsh in Castelmartini. Garden of memory. It was inaugurated on August 23, 1996 in Castelmartini and it aims to commemorate the massacre carried out on August 23, 1944 by the Nazis, in which 175 people were killed. It was created by Andrea Dami and Simone Fagioli, who recovered the former cemetery by intervening with permanent art installations. The work called "Paysage", realized by Andrea Dami, consists of 36 panels dedicated to the dead of the municipality of Larciano: the quadrangular and cubic panels recall women, while the spherical and round ones evoke men. The shapes are not identical, as the lives of the victims were different, and they are located slightly obliquely to the horizon, representing the randomness and unpredictability of life. In addition, Andrea Dami and Simone Fagioli created the "walkable postcard" called "My brother is here", which is a series of graphic and cultural themes that emerged from eighty-two emails arriving from different countries of Europe, America and Asia. "My brother is here" consists of nine mosaic "pictograms-seats-tables-platforms" representing the world (universality of the message), the relationship between man and woman (human archetype), the eye (symbol of direct vision of massacre), the table of peace (element of constant reflection), the duality between sun and moon (duality of life), the cross (sacrifice of the 175 victims in the massacre), blood (blood of all the people killed), the dove (symbol of peace par excellence) and the word "no!" (one word against violence and war).
Marzocco. In the Florentine Republic, the marzocco was a lion, symbol of the popular power. In the fourteenth century, next to Palazzo Vecchio (Florence), the Signoria kept a menagerie of lions, hence the name of the street "via dei Leoni" (literally “street of Lions”). Even today there is an example of marzocco in Piazza della Signoria in Florence. The example of marzocco situated in the centre of the square of Larciano Castello differs from the Florentine one in the absence of the lion's head; in fact, it is said that it was stolen by Cecina, the nearby and historical rival. Bagno gate, San Marco gate and South gate. Today the wall path presents three entrance gates; a northwest gate (San Marco gate), a northeast one (Bagno gate) and finally a south gate. In the description of the castle, the Liber Censuum book (dated back to the year 1382) mentions “duarum portis, quarum una vocatur Porta a Bagno, and alia Porta S. Marci”. However, it is difficult to recognize through this toponymy the gates mentioned above and, consequently, it is not easy to date them. The Bagno gate and the San Marco one have the same constructive characteristic, namely the Liutprando’s foot (ancient unit of measurement of Lombard origin); for this reason they can be dated between the tenth and thirteen centuries. While the San Marco gate is related to the expansion of the thirteen century walls, the Bagno gate could already be referred to the first stone walls dating back to the twelfth century. In addition, the latter gate suffered the lowering of the threshold level, linked to the profound changes in the internal viability of the castle, which also led to the destruction of part of the wall path. On the other hand, the southern gate is the most recent of the three access points to the village, as it can be noticed in the use of the Pistoiese arm as a modular base. It was built following the extension of the walls, so after the year 1382, but prior to the establishment of the Florentine arm as a single module in Tuscany, so before the end of the eighteenth-century.
Culture Library In Larciano there is a municipal library which offers many services, such as the local, the interlibrary and the home loan, the consultation, some educational activities for adults and children and activities to promote reading and a playroom.
Research
Astronomical observatory of Castelmartini.
Schools In the municipality of Larciano it is possible to find two public kindergartens, a primary school and a middle school; the Istituto Comprensivo di Larciano includes all these schools.
Museums
The Museum of Rural Life “Casa Dei”. Located inside a two-storey farmhouse inside the Fucecchio Marsh, the museum collects materials from the peasant life of the early twentieth century. The museum is divided into sections and the final goal is to make people aware of the relationship established between the place, the agricultural activity and the role in the rural life at that time. The aforementioned museum was created in collaboration with the Tuscany Region and with the patronage of the Province of Pistoia and the Municipality of Larciano within the project called "Along the Migratory Routes" and it has entered the museum network of the Tuscany Region since 2012. The Civic Museum of Larciano Castello. Located in Larciano Castello and inaugurated in 1975, the museum collects some objects coming from the Valdinievole area and others arriving from other places, through donations or temporary loans thanks to museums. The finds cover a large time frame that starts from prehistoric times until the late Renaissance. The museum is organized in two sections: a local and an educational section.
Gallery
Cum Venio, home, studio, art gallery. Born in June 2022 from the renovation of the former convent in Piazza Quattro Martiri. The structure promotes local cultural realities, such as debates on various topics and local personalities, through book presentations, dissemination meetings and art exhibitions. Two of the most important held in its spaces, the one dedicated to the reinterpretation of "Leonardo's Women" and the first "Retrospective of the Work of Filippo Biagioli".
Events
Settembre Larcianese (literally “September in Larciano”). The fair was created in 1874 to encourage the breeding and the livestock trade and it was annually held in the square of San Rocco. The fair was immediately successful, so much that in 1875 the square of San Rocco was enlarged to give more space to animals. In addition to the purchase of animals, the competition for the best beasts and the livestock exhibition, the fair gave the opportunity to take part in traditional competitions, to see the fireworks and to have a great time thanks to storytellers and fire eaters. In 1907 the flight of the “colombina” was introduced: this event was auspicious for the forthcoming agricultural year. Initially, the fair lasted only one day, more precisely it used to take place on the second Thursday of September; today it continues for several days. The program of the fair has been changed due to the economic transformation of the area, from agricultural to mainly industrial and artisanal; this is the reason why the animals for the various competitions are no longer seen in the square.