Poggio a Caiano in Tuscany

The town of Poggio a Caiano is an authentic crossroads between Florence and Pistoia, on one side, and the Montalbano, on the other. With its approximately 8500 inhabitants, it houses particularly important architectures such as the church of Santa Cristina in Pilli and the Medicean Villa.

The Roman historian Livy had already described the area corresponding to the modern town as a swampy and inhabited area after Hannibal's passage. Even though not all the historians agree on this testimony, it can be certainly affirmed that the territory of Poggio had already been inhabited since the Early Middle Ages, at least, and it belonged to the Counts Cadalindi of Fucecchio and to the Olivetan monks from Pistoia, in the X century. The Cancelieri, who built the first fortress, now disappeared, came after them.
The position of the medieval village near the banks of the Ombrone river determined its development. Between the XIV and the XVII centuries, in effect, Poggio a Caiano was the most important river port in Prato and it linked the town to the port of call in Pisa and Livorno.
Around 1420, the Strozzi and, above all, the Medici, started to establish their presence in the area and bought many lands and farms. Thanks to the Grand Duchy seigniory, the village definitively developed.
In effect, Lorenzo the Magnificent himself lived near the ancient fortress while he followed his villa's construction works which entailed the arrival in Poggio of many appreciated artisans and carpenters of the time.
The development of a real inhabited village, that rose thanks to the works for the building of the luxurious Medicean Villa in a place chosen for its favourable position between Florence and Pistoia, was due to this settlement. Once the Grand duchy era ended, the town entered the Kingdom of Italy in 1860.
The town underwent much damage during the conflict between Nazi-Fascists and the Allies after the Armistice of 8 September, 1943. In particular, the bombardments of 1944 destroyed the city's wonderful "Ponte di Ferro", a feather in the cap of the XIX-century civil engineering. The Medicean Villa, therefore, became the natural refuge of Poggio's inhabitants. In 1962, Poggio a Caiano detached from the town of Carmignano thanks to its remarkable economic growth and it gave life to its autonomous administration.