The town of Cecina

Medieval village of Cecina, on the side of Montalbano, it has Etruscan origins, and we can find here walls and two access doors.

1. From the center of the square

The town of Cecina is small village situated in the Montalbano hills, at little more than 130 meters above sea level. Its ancient origines are borne out by some archeological remains which have come to light a little way away near the site of the ancient chapel of Saint Lorenzo at Vaiano. Its name seems to be derived from that of a family of Etruscan origin called Kaiknas – Caecina.

2. The apse. From the center moving upwards towards the right hand side of Cecina Square we go through on foot an underpass until we meet a small medieval square. If on one side we discover one of the two ancient gates of the village on the other we can observe the rear of the Saint Niccolò Church. On the apse, external and semicircular 2 meters above the ground we can observe two stones with Greek Crosses cut in, still very visible as testimony of the period of Byzantium-Lungobard domination.

Furthermore inside the Saint Niccolò Church two stones are avidly kept, depicting stylized faces, dating back to the Lungobards. During the VI century the area of Larciano constituted a boundary line between the Byzantine troups of the West ( Greek was therefore the official language) and those of Germanic origin (Lungobard). In the last decade of the VI century it was then the Lungobard King Aghinolfo who conquered Pistoia and the surroundings hills.

3. The Walls. Observing the gate and going along the route of the small steps adjacent to the apse of S. Niccolò Church, we can note that the old town was fortified by a wall of thickness of a meter and half. This authoritarian appearance was part of the town ever since its origins, on the other hand, right in the Middle Ages Cecina at first was dependent on the already mentioned chapel of S. Lorenzo at Vaiano and afterwards a feudal possession of the Counts Guidi of Modigliana who used it as typical rural town or mansion. Purchased in 1226 by the Pistoia Townhall together with the Larciano Castle, in 1335 it was named for the first time Castel – Castrum – for its fortifications typical of that period, rich in military and political upheavals.

4. Saint Niccolò church. We are now on the meadow of S. Niccolò church, surrounded by the city walls. The structure is romanesque style, even if only the apse, built on one rock, goes back to this period; the prominent clocktower and a part of the church were subsequently restructured from the XVI to XIX centuries. The church presents only one nave and a transept only on the left side. Inside we discover, on the left wall, a splendid wooden crucifix made by an unknown sculptor in XIII century. On the other side we can find a fresco from XV century attributed to the Florentine painter, Donnino di Domenico. In the centre of the scene are represented the Archangel Raphael who is holding the hand of Giovanni Tobiolo in front of Saint Lorenzo. To the side seraphins with six wings, Saint Sigismondo and Saint Rocco, on the ceiling the sun and the moon that are crying for the dead Christ.

5. The panorama. Going out of the church we can see a unique panorama towards the west. During all the year, good weather permitting, the sunset is a splendid view. In the background the closest hill is Montevettolini, belonging to the Monsummano Townhall, where we can see clearly the white of the Medici Villa. On the subsequent hill the tower of Monsummano Alto is visible and in the distance the villages of the Lucca Province and mountains of Pisa. We can have the idea of Medieval Pistoia that was a system of a lot of fortifications, settled on different hills, communicating between each other.

6. The second world war. Going ahead alongside the olive trees that surround the meadow of the church we exit from the village. If we observe with attention the end of the external wall we can note the destructive effects of the German retreat during the second world war. We can see the big hole on the wall extending for 1.5 meters and we can imagine the horror of the Cecina people, on the morning of a day in 1944, when the Nazis, trying to stop the Allied Army, made a big explosion of dynamite. In that period Cecina was a Nazi stronghold particularly at the house n.53 in the square was the headquarters of the military command.

7. Today. Anyone that has the possibility to spent some time in this little village, perhaps can feel that the thick walls have preserved a place out of time. The spirit of the inhabitants makes life like in one single family, with a unique reality made of traditions, holidays, conversations and problems, but always alive and proud of its history.

To Visit