History
Uliveto Termewas first mentioned in a document dated 975and is known since Middle Ages for its thermal springs. It lies between the first ramifications of Monte Pisano and the plain created by the lower course of the river Arno. This is an environment strongly marked by the counterposition of mountain and river. This circumstance is most evident in the village of Uliveto Terme, where the River and the Mountain are only a few hundred meters far one from the other, creating a strong contrast: here, the river flows calmly in a bight, while the mountain suddenly rises in a jugged outline, featured by Karst formations enhanced by the mining activity. The “heart” of the mountain has been exposed, creating steep, sheer walls of rocks right on the village houses.
The dualism “mountain/river has been one of the distinguishing features which have marked the History of this village. For centuries, the inhabitants have been living on activities linked to the exploitation of these so different but yet complementary environments: the mountain, with its mines of limestone. The river, which has always been the main mean of transport to Pisa, Livorno and Florence, and therefore a great source of profit for many generations of boatmen and fishermen.
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Uliveto's area is also characterized by another phenomenon, where earth and water - the mineral world and the water world - are linked together: the thermal springs. The springs of this small village were already well-known many centuries ago. It is said that, when the troops of the Emperor Frederick I, the Redbeard – worn-out by the long march - passed through Vicopisano's district, they quenched their thirst with this water. It was already known that the water coming from these springs – the so-called "Ancient Bath" - was not only refreshing, but also healthy. In the proceedings of the Republic of Pisa in the 13th century, it is reported that a “Balneum et Fontanam” was edified saying that it had healthy effects on the digestive system and more precisely on the “gastric catarrhs”.
In not so distant times, a Doctor Giuli reported in a book edited in 1835 the beneficial effects of this water. In 1910, the first bottling plant of the joint-stock company “Acqua e Terme di Uliveto” was built .“.
The Monuments
Inside the Thermal Park there is the San Martino al Bagno, constructed with “verrucano” ashlars, with entrance door on the left side.
The nearby church of San Salvatore was built by the Architect Pietro Bernardini in 1854-57 commissioned by the brothers Benedetto and Andrea Upezzinghi, in replacement of an earlier church first mentioned in 1063 and its ruins can be seen on the opposite side of the street.
Not so distant you can find the church of Santissima Annunziata, which has to be dated to Middle Ages, though it has been radically restored in the 19th century.
Along the suburban street “delle Fornaci” there is a tabernacle representing the Annunciation, dated 1686.
The village of Noce
Going along Via Vicarese in the direction of Pisa we meet the small urban settlement of Noce, located at the foot of “Monte Verruca”. The village - interesting for its location - was first mentioned in 970. In past times it has always been a possession of wealthy Pisan families (Del Mosca, Lanfreducci) that built there their residences and farms. Today, Noce is featured by the small church of San Domenico (dated 1639 according to an inscription on its façade) and by a series of edifices, settled around the villa Lanfreducci-Upezzinghi. This was probably built in the 15th century, but it was deeply renewed in 1637, when a big yard was also added, which is now enclosed by an ashlar boundary wall made in the 19th century. In the surroundings, there are other buildings once belonged to the Lanfreducci family.
From Noce, you can go up the slopes of Mount La Verruca, walking in a natural environment made of olive trees, cypresses, cluster-pines and the typical low stone walls (the traditional “grotti” which delimit the crags of the olive groves) that slowly leave space to the low vegetation that grows on stony grounds.
The hamlets of the territory
See also
Discover
- The activity at the rock quarry in the short videos from the Historical Archive "Istituto Luce"
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