Cascina


Cascina is a comune in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region Tuscany, located about west of Florence and about southeast of Pisa.
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, Pisa, Pontedera, San Giuliano Terme, Vicopisano.

History

The first mention of Cascina is from a document of 750 AD. The origin of the name is still uncertain, but it could derive from Casina, or from the creek that crossed it, or from an Etruscan personal name, Latinized as Cassenius.
On 26 July 1364, the eponymous battle between the armies of Pisa and Florence was fought here. The event was later reproduced by Michelangelo in painting, of which now preparatory drawings and a copy by Aristotile da Sangallo 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 of Arnaccio, Casciavola, Laiano, Latignano, Marciana, Montione, Musigliano, Navacchio, Pettori, Ripoli, San Benedetto, San Casciano, San Frediano a Settimo, San Giorgio a Bibbiano, San Lorenzo a Pagnatico, San Lorenzo alle Corti, San Prospero, 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
  • Parish church of Saints Ippolito and Cassiano
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, renovated in the 12th century in Pisane-Gothic style.
The frazione of Marciana has the church of San Miniato. At Montione is found the Abbey of San Savino.

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 waves.

Twin towns - Sister cities

Cascina is twinned with: