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DOCUMENT CENTER
The municipality of Calenzano isbetween Florence and Prato. It has a population of around 15 thousand inhabitants and is home to one of the most important industrial parks in Tuscany.
The gentle, lush hills behind the town are full of interesting medieval villas and buildings.
Just outside the town is the area of Sommaia. This area is home to many ancient constructions set in the beautiful Tuscan countryside.
The whole area around Calenzano was inhabited by the Etruscans and then later by the Romans. There is much evidence of Roman civilisation in the area still today, such as the‘centurizia’ division of the fields and the network of ancient roads that connect Florence and the other main Tuscan cities.
HISTORY
HISTORY
In the Early Middle Ages, the first churches were built here, mostly on top of unused ancient Roman structures. At the time, the Calenzano area was divided into several parts.
Calenzano’s fort was built in the eleventh century, just as in many other nearby towns, and the town allied itself with Florence in order to defend the area’s agricultural land against the aggressive attacks of imperial nobility. The fort was attacked many times over the centuries, in particular by Castruccio Castracani in 1325. The ruins of the fort are still visible today.
