Casoli Val di Lima

Casoli country of Celtic origin (Liguri-Apuani) and ancient Celtic castle Origin Name - The name has origin from the Latin house "Casae" - "Casule" - "Casore" - Casoli First historical news - 983 "Teudogrimo" Bishop of Lucca rents houses and earths on the spot "Casule" to the Viscount "fraolmo" child of "Fraolmo" Church - SS.Andrea and Donato Other Churches - Madonna of Loreto - Oratorical "Madonna of Colle a Piano" - Oratorical "Madonna of Castle" History country Prehistoric epoch - In the place "Carboneria" near to the country prehistoric finds have been found again belonged to of the nomadic hunters Historical Celtic - Celtic tribes of the village built a fortress on the hill "Castellare" within their religious temple 180 a.Cs. - The army of Rome defeats the tribes of the Celtis in Val of Serchio and Csoli he becomes Roman colony Roman epoch - the inside of the cave "the Piella" (from the Latin "Taxus Bacata" a tree that grows in front of the cave) they have been found some Roman coins III century D.C. Epoch Longobarda - The Longobards occupy Casoli and they reconstruct in stone the ancient castle, in the country they are discovered (1970) of the stones carved by the longobards, above a stone he is carved in alphabet "Gothic I" the word "UUOTORNAVEISSI" "Pity for the crazy persons" XII century - The castle of Casoli "Castro de Casore" it becomes feud of the noble Porcaresi of Benabbio (Family of origin Longobards) 1180 - the consuls of Casoli "Donto" child of "Arrigo" and "Orsello" child of "Baroncello" they swear fidelity to the Bishop of Lucca "Guglielmo" XIII century - Casoli becomes dominion of Lucca 1308 - Lucca inserts Casoli in the jurisdiction "Vicaria Terrarum Civium et Vallis Lime" XIV century - noble Castruccio Castracane of Lucca quarrels with noble Lupo Lupari of Benabbio and conquest his castles (Benabbio, Casoli, Limano......) 1336 - the army of Florence tries to assault the castle of Casoli but a temporal violent you hinders the soldiers of Florence that have to reenter to the base. April 1 st 1405 - three men of Casoli "Martino Puccianti Nicolao", "Biagio of Bonagiunta Puccianti" and "Giovanni Micheli" they kill "Giovanni Nuto" on the spot "Balco", the place of the crime is marked digging a cross in a stone of the wall of the road (it exists today still) the assassins run away together with 15 friends (become of the rebels of the castle of Casoli) and noble Paulo Guinigi of Lucca orders to capture them, after some months the rebels return and they try to assault the castle the soldiers of Casoli they reject the assailants and in the battle they kill a rebel 1807 - The Princess of Lucca Elisa Baciocchi (sister of Napoleone) sentence the country of Casoli to pay a fine because of an ancient loan not returned to the city of Lucca

Photo Casoli Val di Lima Country n°1 - n°2 - n°3 - n°4 - n°5 - n°6 - n°7 - n°8 - n°9 - n°10 - n°11 - n°12 - n°13 - n°14 - n°15 - n°16 - n°17 - n°18 - n°19 - n°20 - n°21

History churches

S.Donato

The church of S.Donato to three aisles was built in unknown epoch in Romanesque style

1180 - first historical news of the church, the consuls of Casoli "Donto" and "Orsello" they swear fidelity to the Bishop of Lucca Guglielmo

1260 - in the list of churches her of Lucca the church of S.Donato it results inserted in the jurisdiction of the Parish of Vico Pancellorum (Plebes de Vico Panceloro) and it pays a tax of 50 Lire pisane

1553 - The church of S.Donato results united to she asked her of S.Maria of Palleggio, and S.Michele of Cocciglia

Photo Bell tower

Oratorical "Madonna of Colle a Piano"

The oratory built on the spot "Plan Hill" in unknown epoch in a wood of oaks and to contains some fragments of frescos of the XVI - XVII century, in the façade of the oratory a graven coat of arms exists above a representative stone the coat of arms of an ancient noble family of 1555 Casoli.

Photo Church

S.Andrea

X century - Next to the lake of Casoli existed a small called medieval country "Lacu" and an ancient church "S.Andrea du Lacu" (XI century) jurisdiction Parish of "Vico Pancellorum"

1260 - In the list of churches of Lucca, the church of S.Andrea she is called "Ecclesia S.Andrea du Lacu" and it pays a tax of 46 "lire Pisane"

1348 - An epidemic of plague killed many men of "Lacu", the sopravvisutis abandoned the country

1358 - The country of "Lacu" it results depopulated and the church of S.Andrea is united to the church of S.Donato of Casoli

1467 - The church of S.Andrea results is closed and abandoned

Photo n°1 - n°2 - n°3

Oratorical Madonna of Loreto

The church also called "chiesina of the Margine" she was built in the XVII century for order of the colonel Pietro Villaggi

Celtic astronomic center
In the part more aloft of the country, among the ruins of the medieval castle, in place Castello today we can admire still some manufactured articles (two big stones and some coppelle dug in the present roccies in the ground), of Celtic origin belonging to the sacred center of the "Conciliabulum" (territorial subdivision of the Liguri-Apuani) of Casoli, one of the lithic complexes among the most interesting of the province of Lucca. To the two big manufactured articles, situated near the ruins of the it walls up of the castle, a big stone from the form oval-lengthened long around 2 wide ms 1 m, where two seats have been dug, in front of which the second stone is set to form of two trunks of cone overlapped, with the plan (1m of diameter), sideways positioned in direction of midday, in a first time you was exclusively attributed him a religious function, for many years you was considered as an area turned to the propitiatory rites, where the second stone developed the function of sacrificial macaw, then to the conclusion of some inspections to the site, happened between 1970 and 1980 the historical C.Puccini, R.Ambrosini and M.Zecchini they decided to deepen the searches, that brought to the discovery of a Celtic calendar inserted in a primitive astronomic observatory. A series of situated holes on two layers, along the circumference of the second stone and his/her plan tilted toward alike midday to a sundial, it pushed their searches toward the calculation of the time, science for a long time studied by the man and already note in the ancient civilization, where conclusive to know the beginning of the was you season, to program the seeding, the crops and the other essential jobs for the survival of the populations, in their inspections of December 28 th 1980, the three researchers after having polished up with care the stones inserted some batons in the small holes (7 places to around 30 cms the one from the other) and to the sunset they noticed that the shades of the batons were causally projected not but in determined points of the stones, through which it was to easily individualize the solstice in winter and subsequently the solstice in summer
Archaeological site seen by the tall one	Archaeological site seen by the side southeast

. - Holes dug in the stones 1 - Direction of the sunset of the sun June 21 st 4 - First stone 2 - Direction of the to rise some sun June 21 st 5 - Second stone 3 - Direction of the sunset of the sun December 21 st 6 - Boundaries of the castle	. - Holes dug in the stones 4 - First stone 5 - Second stone 6 - Boundaries of the castle

First stone		Second stone		Coppelle

Stones longobards

1970 - in an old abandoned house and almost destroyed, along the ancient street that crossing the country united the two Roman bridges on the river "Lima", “Ponte Maggio” (Pons Maior) and “Ponte Nero” (Pons Minor), three graven stones are found with symbols of origin longobards

1° Stone - Above the first stone it is graven a word composed by 13 symbols, of the alphabet "Gothic 1", the word "UUTOMAVEISI" translated in Latin it means "Furentihus Gratia Sit" pity for the crazy persons

2° Stone - You second stone not identified during our visit contains two images with three small squares, that can point out two wings, two fishes or simply man and woman

3° Stone - You third stone walled up in an ancient angle of a tower, contains the figure of a tree that represents The tree of the life

The countries of Bagni di Lucca
Pag.1	Casabasciana Crasciana Cocciglia Limano Lugliano Palleggio
Pag.3	Granaiola Monti di Villa (Lugnano-Bugnano-Riolo)


Pag.2	Casoli Val di Lima