Uzzano in Tuscany

The town of Uzzano is in the province of Pistoia with a population of about 4,800 inhabitants and it is considered one of the medieval "jewels" of the Valdinievole. The castle and the church of the Ss. Jacopo and Martino can be admired while visiting Uzzano.

Since the XI century, already, Uzzano was cited together with Montechiari as a property belonging to a noble family from Lucca. One of its members, Francesco di Freggiotto, ceded the castle of Uzzano and other territories to the town of Lucca, a cession that, yet, seemed to be false. In effect, at the time of the sale (first half of the XIII century) the village had already issued its first autonomous statutes as also the act of submission to Lucca of 1281 shows. From this last document, it can be inferred that before then Uzzano had benefited from a period of political independence both from the city and from its former rulers.
Nevertheless, Lucca was satisfied with exercising just a protectorate on the area. The autonomy of Uzzano was therefore destined to stop with the decline of the Ghibelline power in the territory of Lucca and with the consequent growth of the Guelf-oriented Florence.
In 1329, Florence settled the dissolution of the League of the Valdinievole and ten years later the Republic annexed the towns of the league and did not recognize any of their statutes.
On the political and military level, the Florentine aegis produced a period of stability and peace in Uzzano. In 1356, only, a group of inhabitants of Uzzano tried a coup and their aim was to encourage the Pisans in entering the village. In the following years, the period of decadence and isolation of the fortified villages in the territory of Pistoia affected the castle. The interest of the Florentine seigniory slowly diminished while the fights between the Tuscan cities weaken.
In 1775, the territorial reorganization settled by Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine gave Uzzano a new drive. Its modern appearance became definitive only in 1963, after it detached from Chiesina Uzzanese.