Share
RSS
Tuscany+
Where to sleep
Where to eat
How to get here
Our proposals
Mobile App
Multimedia
Download
LOCATION
The town ofFigline Valdarno is set at the foot of Mount Chiantiin the province of Florence. It is an ancient commercial village and currently boasts a population of about 14,000 inhabitants. Numerous fossils dating to the Pleistocene have been found in the area. During the Stone Age, the Valdarno area was already populated as the rich collection of tools and manufactured flint found in the area of Soffena, San Giovenale, Cascia and Cancelli demonstrate. However, the Etruscan presence here was not as significant as in other places.
The area of the modern Valdarno experienced an incredibly rich agricultural period during Roman times as is testified by Livy's chronicles. They describe the Valdarno, that the Carthaginian leader Hannibal had crossed, as a rich and fertile land. The name Figline comes from a Latin word "Figalinae" which indicates a place where clay was manufactured to produce pottery. This is a tradition that the Romans certainly inherited from the Etruscans.
The area of the modern Valdarno experienced an incredibly rich agricultural period during Roman times as is testified by Livy's chronicles. They describe the Valdarno, that the Carthaginian leader Hannibal had crossed, as a rich and fertile land. The name Figline comes from a Latin word "Figalinae" which indicates a place where clay was manufactured to produce pottery. This is a tradition that the Romans certainly inherited from the Etruscans.
EARLY HISTORY
The history of the town started around the year 1000. More precisely, a document dating to 1008 testifies the existence of the stronghold of "Fegghine" which belonged to the Uberti, a powerful feudal family that lived in the castle of Gaville.
Later, some inhabitants of the settlement on the hills founded the "forum" of Figline, a trade outpost that also exploited its location near the Arno river. Soon, many built-up areas and warehouses for goods started to appear here. The destruction of Fiesole carried out by the Florentines further increased the strategic and economic importance of the new "market town". In 1198, Figline took part in the dispute between the free towns in Tuscanyand the Empire on the side of the former. Nevertheless, when the fight between anti-imperialist Guelfs and Ghibellines began, the village was influenced by the Ubertini and the town allied with the pro-imperial towns.
Thus, the Florentines invaded and devastated the castle of Fegghine in 1250 and, consequently, a population increase took place in the "forum" of the valley. The latter slowly grew into a city. Between 1353 and 1375, Figline was fortified and it became the ideal refuge for the refugee who came from the ancient besieged feudal castles later demolished by the Florentines in the ambit of their campaigns against the feudal lords of the countryside. In 1800, Napoleon founded the Kingdom of Etruria in Tuscany and chose Figline as the seat of the "Accademia Valdarnese del Poggio", a temple of naturalism, where some collections of fossils found in the territory of the Valdarno were housed.
At that time, the famous researcher Georges Cuvier, one of the founders of palaeontology, visited this town. The holdings of the Academy were later transferred to Montevarchi where they can still be seen in the Museum. Masaccio, who was born in the Valdarno, carried out his first work in theChurch of San Biagio. His "Trittico di San Giovenale" (1422) can still be seen there today.
Later, some inhabitants of the settlement on the hills founded the "forum" of Figline, a trade outpost that also exploited its location near the Arno river. Soon, many built-up areas and warehouses for goods started to appear here. The destruction of Fiesole carried out by the Florentines further increased the strategic and economic importance of the new "market town". In 1198, Figline took part in the dispute between the free towns in Tuscanyand the Empire on the side of the former. Nevertheless, when the fight between anti-imperialist Guelfs and Ghibellines began, the village was influenced by the Ubertini and the town allied with the pro-imperial towns.
Thus, the Florentines invaded and devastated the castle of Fegghine in 1250 and, consequently, a population increase took place in the "forum" of the valley. The latter slowly grew into a city. Between 1353 and 1375, Figline was fortified and it became the ideal refuge for the refugee who came from the ancient besieged feudal castles later demolished by the Florentines in the ambit of their campaigns against the feudal lords of the countryside. In 1800, Napoleon founded the Kingdom of Etruria in Tuscany and chose Figline as the seat of the "Accademia Valdarnese del Poggio", a temple of naturalism, where some collections of fossils found in the territory of the Valdarno were housed.
At that time, the famous researcher Georges Cuvier, one of the founders of palaeontology, visited this town. The holdings of the Academy were later transferred to Montevarchi where they can still be seen in the Museum. Masaccio, who was born in the Valdarno, carried out his first work in theChurch of San Biagio. His "Trittico di San Giovenale" (1422) can still be seen there today.
