Villa Basilica

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Villa Basilica
Template: Infobox municipality in Italy / maintenance / coat of arms missingNo coat of arms available.
Villa Basilica (Italy)
Villa Basilica
Country Italy
region Tuscany
province Lucca  (LU)
Coordinates 43 ° 56 '  N , 10 ° 39'  E Coordinates: 43 ° 55 '32 "  N , 10 ° 38' 45"  E
height 330  m slm
surface 36.5 km²
Residents 1,540 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density 42 inhabitants / km²
Post Code 55019
prefix 0572
ISTAT number 046034
Popular name Villesi
Patron saint Santa Maria Assunta (August 15)
Website Villa Basilica
Panorama from Villa Basilica
Panorama from Villa Basilica

Villa Basilica is an Italian municipality with 1540 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) in the province of Lucca in Tuscany .

geography

Location of the municipality of Villa Basilica in the province of Lucca

Villa Basilica is located in the Valle Ariana (also Valleriana ) about 15 km northeast of the provincial capital Lucca and about 52 km northwest of the regional capital Florence in the climatic classification of Italian communities in zone E, 2 924 GG. The most important body of water in the municipality is the Pescia di Collodi river (also called Pescia minore ), which spends 11 of its 30 km in the municipality and flows east of the town center.

The districts (frazioni) include Botticino (240 m, approx. 140 inhabitants), Boveglio (700 m, approx. 140 inhabitants), Colognora (562 m, approx. 100 inhabitants), Pariana (585 m, approx. 280 inhabitants) , Pizzorne (842 m, approx. 20 inhabitants) and Pracando (350 m, approx. 100 inhabitants). The main town, Villa Basilica, has about 500 inhabitants.

The neighboring municipalities are Bagni di Lucca , Borgo a Mozzano , Capannori and Pescia ( PT ).

history

The first inhabitants of the settlement already had ties with the Etruscans . After that, the Ligurians ruled the place. Among the Romans built around the Via Clodia that the delle Via Cartiere (today Provincial Strada SP 35) a section represented, located in the district. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Lombards ruled . Villa Basilica was first mentioned in a document in May 774. In 1258 the place submitted to the rule of Lucca. After a short period under Pisan rule, the place returned to Lucca and was given as a fief to his relative Azzo dei Conti di Gragnano by Castruccio Castracani in 1316 . After the death of Castruccio Castracani, the place fell back to Pisa, which held the rule until 1369 and was then defeated by Lucca and Charles IV . In the conflict between Lucca and Florence, the place was badly damaged and occupied in 1429 by Niccolò Fortebraccio in the service of the Fiorentines. Under Sigismund , the place briefly returned to Lucca, but was soon occupied again by Florence. It was not until 1441 that Villa Basilica came under the rule of Lucches again. The plague epidemic of 1631 halved the population and led to a significant decline in the economy and the importance of the place.

In 1883, the districts of Pontito and Stiappa Pescia , which had previously belonged to Villa Basilica, were allocated. Collodi and Veneri followed a year later . Aramo, Fibbialla, Medicina and San Quirico went to Pescia in 1890.

Attractions

  • Villa Basilica has a historical center with medieval fortifications that were built from the 12th century onwards and have been renewed and expanded several times.
  • In the piazza is the parish church ( Pieve ) Santa Maria Assunta, which was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. It originated from the early 9th century church of San Benedetto (mentioned in March 800). The campanile dates back to the 12th century and was created from a previously built fortification tower. The second altar on the right contains the work Crocifisso by Berlinghiero Berlinghieri (13th century).
  • Rocca di Villa Basilica , castle above the town center, was built at the beginning of the 13th century.
  • The Palazzo Comunale was built in the 16th century.
  • Castello di Boveglio , first mentioned in 757, is located in today's district of Boveglio.
  • Chiesa dei Santi Jacopo e Ginese , already mentioned as Pieve in 1086 in the district of Boveglio. First was St. Dedicated to Ginesio e Giovanni and was greatly modified in the 17th century. Contains a tabernacle assigned to the Matteo Civitali . The Oratorio della Misericordia is attached to the church.
  • Torre dell'Orologio , clock tower in the district of Boveglio, which was built in the 14th century at the latest.
  • Chiesa di San Michele , church in the district of Colognora, which was built in the 15th century at the latest and was considerably expanded in the 16th century. The high altar contains a painting by Simone Carretta with the Vergine col Bambino, Santa Caterina di Alessandria, San Michele and the Saints Michele Arcangelo, Simone, Giuda, Pietro and Giovanni Battista.
  • Museo del Castagno ( Chestnut Museum ), is located in the district of Colognora. Made in 1985.

  • The Pieve Santa Maria Assunta in the center

  • Santi Jacopo e Ginese in the Boveglio district

  • The clock tower in the Boveglio district

  • The church of San Michele in the district Colognora

  • Preserved gate of the fortification in Colognora

  • The Pescia di Collodi river (also called Pescia minore )

economy

In the Middle Ages, the place was known for the manufacture of iron and weapons, especially swords . From the 14th century until 1985, the place was also an important production site for the paper industry.

Sons and daughters of the church

  • Pietro Perna (before 1522–1582), bookseller, publisher and printer in Basel

literature

Web links

Commons : Villa Basilica  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
  2. ↑ a b Comuni Italiani
  3. ↑ a b Tuttitalia
  4. ↑ a b c Emanuele Repetti: VILLA BASILICA nella Valle Ariana.
  5. ↑ a b c d e Contado Lucchese
  6. ↑ Website of the Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l'energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile (ENEA) , accessed on April 19, 2015 (Italian) (PDF; 330 kB)
  7. ↑ a b c d e f Website of the municipality of Villa Basilica on the history of the place (with subpages), accessed on April 19, 2015 (Italian)
  8. ↑ Official website of the Sistema Informativo Ambientale della Regione Toscana (SIRA) on the rivers in Villa Basilica , accessed on April 19, 2015 (Italian)
  9. ↑ Official website of ISTAT ( Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ) on 2001 population figures in the province of Lucca, accessed on April 19, 2015 (Italian)
  10. ↑ Touring Club Italiano: Toscana.
  11. ↑ a b Pro Loco Boveglio
  12. ↑ Museo del Castagno for the Church of San Michele in Colognora , accessed on April 20, 2015 (Italian)
  13. ↑ Official website of the Museo del Castagno , accessed on April 20, 2015 (Italian)