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Storia
Thousands and thousands of years ago, the Valdinievole valley was washed by the waters of the sea, whose waves flowed as far as the slopes of Montalbano: the Padule di Fucecchio (Fucecchio marshes) is what has survived that far away geological era.
The first human settlements developed on the hills enclosing the valley and, during the Middle Ages, reached their peak of splendor. Today, traces of the process leading to the construction of “walled hamlets” are still visible thanks to the remains of ancient rocks and bulwarks that were erected as strongholds to safeguard the integrity of the villages and their inhabitants. The Valdinievole was long a rival of Lucca, Pisa and Florence, which contended their dominion over it, and strongly felt the harsh contrasts between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Then, toward the mid-16th century, it passed definitively under the control of the Medici family.
Under the Grand Duchy of Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine, at the end of the 18th century, the Valdinievole lived a period of supreme prosperity. The “enlightened” Grand Duke ordered the reclamation of a vast area in the surrounds of Montecatini so as to recover the wealthy treasures represented by its hot springs and thermal waters. During the following hundred years, the healing properties of the steam from the Monsummano grottos were discovered and the Valdinievole moved on to become one of the major European well-being centers.
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