Cascina () is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

'' (municipality) in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, located about west of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

and about southeast of

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ...

. Cascina is located on the left shore of the Arno River, on a markedly plain terrain. The ''comune ''borders the following municipalities: Calcinaia, Collesalvetti, Crespina, Casciana Terme Lari,

Pontedera Pontedera (; la, Pons Herae) is an italian comune with a population of 29.270 inhabitants, located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy. The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florence. It houses t ...

, San Giuliano Terme, Vicopisano.

History

The first mention of Cascina is from a document of 750 AD. The origin of the name is uncertain, but it could derive from '' Casina'' ("Small House"), or from the creek that crossed it (now disappeared), or from an Etruscan

personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is know ...

, Latinized as ''Cassenius''. On 26 July 1364, the eponymous

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

between the armies of

and

was fought here. The event was later reproduced by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was in ...

in painting, of which now preparatory drawings and a copy by Aristotile da Sangallo (also known as

Bastiano da Sangallo Bastiano da Sangallo (1481May 31, 1551) was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Tuscany. He was a nephew of Giuliano da Sangallo and Antonio da Sangallo the Elder. He is usually known as Arist ...

) exist. The city had in fact a strategical importance as a fortified stronghold on the main road connecting the two cities.

Geography

; ''Frazioni'' The municipality is formed by the municipal seat of Cascina and the villages ('' frazioni'') of

Arnaccio Arnaccio is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Cascina, province of Pisa. At the time of the 2011 census its population was 113.Casciavola Casciavola is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Cascina, province of Pisa. Casciavola is about 11 km from Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling ...

, Laiano,

Latignano Latignano is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Cascina, province of Pisa. At the time of the 2001 census its population was 556.Marciana Marciana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Livorno, Tuscany (Italy), located in the western Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian ma ...

Montione Montione, also called Badia, is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Cascina, province of Pisa. Montione is about 8 km from Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Ita ...

Musigliano Musigliano is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Cascina, province of Pisa. Musigliano is about 9 km from Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling t ...

Navacchio Navacchio is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Cascina, province of Pisa. Navacchio is about 10 km from Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling th ...

Pettori Pettori is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Cascina, province of Pisa. Pettori is about 8 km from Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the ...

, Ripoli,

San Benedetto San Benedetto may refer to: * Saint Benedict (c. 480-543/547), Italian saint * Saint Benedict (disambiguation), a number of other Italian saints called San Benedetto (Saint Benedict) Places of Italy * San Benedetto Belbo, a municipality in the Pro ...

, San Casciano,

San Frediano a Settimo San Frediano a Settimo is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Cascina, province of Pisa. San Frediano a Settimo is about 14 km from Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, ce ...

, San Giorgio a Bibbiano,

San Lorenzo a Pagnatico San Lorenzo a Pagnatico is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Cascina, province of Pisa. San Lorenzo a Pagnatico is about 14 km from Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tusca ...

San Lorenzo alle Corti San Lorenzo alle Corti is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Cascina, province of Pisa. San Lorenzo alle Corti is about 8 km from Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, ...

San Prospero San Prospero ( Carpigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) ...

, San Sisto al Pino, Santo Stefano a Macerata, Titignano, Visignano and Zambra.

Main sights

*Medieval walls *Castle of Ripoli *''Pieve di Santa Maria'' *''Oratorio di San Giovanni'' *Church of the ''Madonna dell'Acqua'' (Madonna of the Water) *

Parish church of Saints Ippolito and Cassiano Santi Ippolito e Cassiano (''Pieve dei Santi Ippolito e Cassiano'') is located in San Casciano, a village in the municipality of Cascina, Tuscany, Italy. It is recorded in a document dated April 12, 970, being part of the Archives of the Roman ...

In the village of Zambra there is a 9th-century church with unusual wall paintings of fish in pre-Romanesque style. At San Casciano, a ''frazione'' with c. 3,000 inhabitants, is a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

, renovated in the 12th century in Pisane-Gothic style. The ''frazione'' of

Marciana Marciana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Livorno, Tuscany (Italy), located in the western Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian ma ...

has the church of ''San Miniato'' (10th century). At

is found the

Abbey of San Savino An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conc ...

Infrastructure

The ''frazione'' of Santo Stefano a Macerata is home to the European Gravitational Observatory and the Virgo interferometer, one of the few facilities in the World for the search for

gravitational wave Gravitational waves are waves of the intensity of gravity generated by the accelerated masses of an orbital binary system that propagate as waves outward from their source at the speed of light. They were first proposed by Oliver Heaviside in ...

Twin towns - Sister cities

Cascina is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Umm Dreiga Oum Dreyga is a rural community located in the province of Oued Ed-Dahab in the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region in Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North an ...

, Western Sahara * Sebnitz, Germany * Saliès, France, since 2007

References

External links

Official website
Cities and towns in Tuscany Castles in Italy {{Pisa-geo-stub