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| Historical points of interest |
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The earliest traces of human settlement date back to the VIII century B.C. with the
finding of a number of tombs of the Ligurian-Apuan population. One such finding was
made just a short distance from our farm and now the tomb is jealously guarded in
the National Museum of Villa Guinigi of Lucca.
The Ligurian-Apuan population used our area for seasonal livestock movement. Around
200 B.C. the area paid dearly for the help it gave to Hannibal during the
second
Punic war, and when the Romans had the better of them at the end of the war they
deported 60,000 Ligurian-Apuans to force them into slavery to the region of Sagno.
The area remained under the dominion of the Romans until the day of its downfall and
of this period there are no traces except for the place names, like for example
“CASTRO” (settlement) which to this day is a resort near us.
After the fall of the Roman Empire the traces are lost until 1000 A.D.
When we find the testimony in the Episcopal registers
that the local population paid a tax to the Bishop of
Lucca.. In 1245 the emperor Fredrick II bequeathed the area to the people of Lucca
for their loyalty: From this moment on our green pastures followed the fates of Lucca
and the Vicariate of the Lima Valley and represented the advanced sentinel of the
Republic of Lucca on the border with Modena.
In the following years the area remained hidden among its woods, without leaving
noticeable traces and living in anonymity until when towards the second half of the
XIX century, the migratory phenomena overseas, principally to America, and beyond the
Alps, took an a certain significance. Gradual depopulation began at this time which
slowed down partially between 1934 and 1940 and stopped during the war, resumed more
intensely from 1946 with the emigration of entire family units, which ventured to far
away lands even for a mere pittance.
(Bibliography: B. Cherubini, “I Bagni di Lucca”, Maria Pacini Fazzi editor, Lucca 1998)
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