SAN CASCIANO VAL DI PESA
The communal territory amounts to 107.98 square kilometers (41.69 sq.
m.) and extends over the low hills that divide the Pesa from the Greve
valleys. Altitudes never exceed 400 meters (1,312 ft.) and the town
itself is situated at a height of 316 meters (1,036 ft.). It lies entirely
within the Chianti Classico zone with the exception of a portion on
the left bank of the Pesa. San Casciano borders on Impruneta,
Greve in Chianti, Tavarnelle Val di Pesa and Montespertoli. San Casciano’s
population is 16,212 (1991) and only 9% of the working population is
engaged in agriculture: wine, oil, cereals and other crops.
The history of San Casciano Val di Pesa
Archaeological evidence and surviving place names indicate that the
area was settled in a remote period. It appears that the population
was sufficiently large to support as many as four parishes (besides
Decimo, San Pancrazio, Sugana and Campoli) and a large number of dependent
churches. That pattern of dense settlement, which is still a characteristic
of the countryside around San Casciano, clearly took shape in the Middle
Ages. Settlement was encouraged by the many castles, now villa-farms,
in the area. Later, the growth of agricultural productivity as a result
of the introduction of crop rotation made a fundamental contribution
to the trend. San Casciano is first mentioned as a fief of the Bishop
of Florence but beginning in the second half of the 12th century it
was directly controlled by the governing body of the Tuscan capital.
Shortly thereafter, San Casciano became the administrative center of
the League and then passed under the jurisdiction of a podestà.
The Statute of the Podestà of the City of Florence, dated 1325,
described San Casciano as an important community because of its position
at a major crossroads. From its medieval past San Casciano retains portions
of its 14th-century walls. The churches, like the Collegiata, Santa
Maria del Gesù and San Francesco, are in general better known
for their works of art than for their architecture. However, the interiors
of those churches have preserved their original structures. Other churches
are interesting from an architectural standpoint, such as the small
Romanesque church of Sant’Andrea at Luiano or the Gothic churches
of Santa Maria at Bibbione and Sant’Angelo at Vico l’Abate.
The latter displays a panel by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Among the many villas
located in the countryside around San Casciano and in areas closer to
Florence, those of the Guicciardini family and Tattoli, Corti, Borromeo
and Casarotta deserve mention.