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CALENZANO
The municipality of Calenzano hosts today a lot of factories,
commercial centres and service businesses. The modern centre is
located among the hills of San Donato and Castello, where you also
find some remains from ancient settlements.
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The
Roman origins of Calenzano has been documented recently from an archaeological
finding. The archaeologists have found the remains of a Roman aqueduct
from the I-II century a. C., which was supposed to go through Calenzano,
Sesto Fiorentino, Quinto a Quarto in order to provide Florence with
water. Apart from the aqueduct you can also see the cellars of the
Villa reale di Castello. In Calenzano there are still some remains
of the Castello, an ancient fortified town which today is surrounded
by the buildings from the following centuries. The boundary wall is
partly preserved, as well as two towers from the 15th century. Calenzano
also features one of the most original museums of Italy, the tin soldier
museum which was inaugurated in 1981 and preserves unique pieces and
series of tin soldiers of local historical interest, such as the siege
of the Castello of Calenzano by Castruccio Castracani in 1320.
 In
the centre of the city you should visit the Oratorio della Compagnia
del Santissimo Sacramento, a marvellous example of Baroque architecture
which was built in 1584. The altar is embellished with a table featuring
the Incoronazione di Spine, and was painted by Passignano who is also
considered to have painted the vault fresco of the chapel. The hills
that surround Calenzano is spotted by great villas, most of them were
built during the Renaissance by the most powerful families in Florence.
The Villa di Volmiano is located just before the picturesque village
of Legri, in a dominating and panoramic position. The old house of
Volmiano, which belonged to the noble family Cerretani, was restructured
in 1490 and enclosed the medieval tower. The villa was enlarged and
transformed into a farm in the XVII century.
Next to the Villa di Volmiano you find the Oratorio di San
Giovanni Decollato, a great example of the architecture from the late
17th century. In the surroundings of the Castello you find the parish
churches of San Donato and San Niccolò which are worth a visit.
The Pieve di San Donato, mentioned from year 1000, was reconstructed
at the end of the 16th century and further on modified on the first
half of the 18th century. The church has a nave and two aisles with
a lateral altar from around 1740. The façade is from the 18th
century while the church tower preserves its original Romanesque style.
The church became famous in Europe thanks to Don Milano who was the
parish priest between 1947 and 1954, and founded a school as he considered
that education was a fundamental right for all the citizens, including
the poor.
The Pieve di San Niccolò preserves some external remains
of the primitive Romanesque construction. It used to be the Church
of the Castello but was demolished together with the Castello in 1320
by Castracani and then rebuilt in 1387. The beautiful Villa di Collina
is located on a rampart supported by bastions and was built on the
first half of the 16th century by the Salviati family. A bridge connects
the lawn of the Villa with the Oratorio della Visitazione, embellished
by a frescoed barrel-vault. The Villa di San Donato, set on a hill,
features different architectural styles. It was founded around the
XV century in a Renaissance style and offers an elegant loggia with
view over the marvellous garden. The Villa di Travalle, with a characteristic
"U" plant was built in the 17th century by the Florentine
family Strozzi which transformed it into an important farm, controlling
the work of the surrounding smaller farms. |
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