Altopascio 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 also ...

'' in the Province of Lucca in the

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

region of Italy with a population of 15,572.

History

Already inhabited in

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, Altopascio gained in importance due to its ''Spedale'' (hostel, first mentioned in 1084) for the pilgrims who travelled on the

Via Francigena The Via Francigena () is an ancient road and pilgrimage route running from the cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and Switzerland, to Rome and then to Apulia, Italy, where there were ports of embarkation for the Holy Land. It w ...

, leading from France to Rome. This formed the basis of the later

Order of Saint James of Altopascio The Order of Saint James of Altopascio ( it, Ordine di San Giacomo d'Altopascio or ''Ordine dei Frati Ospitalieri di San Jacopo''), also called the Knights of the Tau (''Cavalieri del Tau'') or Hospitallers of Saint James, was a military order, per ...

. This, founded by

Matilda of Canossa Matilda of Tuscany ( it, Matilde di Canossa , la, Matilda, ; 1046 – 24 July 1115 or Matilda of Canossa after her Count of Canossa, ancestral castle of Canossa), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa ...

between 1070 and 1080, was one of the first of the Military Orders; it existed for four hundred years, in which it had considerable social, political and military influence, and though gaining land in various European countries retained its strong ties to the town where it was founded. It is famous for the

battle of Altopascio The Battle of Altopascio was a battle fought in 1325 in Tuscany, between the Ghibelline forces of Lucca under Castruccio Castracani and those of Guelph Florence. Background After subduing several Ghibelline towns, Castracani had conquered Pistoia ...

in 1325 in which the

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

leader

Castruccio Castracani Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (; 1281 – 3 September 1328) was an Italian ''condottiero'' and duke of Lucca. Biography Castruccio was born in Lucca, a member of the noble family of Antelminelli, of the Ghibelline party. In 1300 he w ...

defeated the Florentines Guelphs led by Ramon de Cardona. Thanks to his victory, he became duke of Lucca. The ''Spedale'' declined starting from the 16th century, until Grand Duke

Peter Leopold , house =Habsburg-Lorraine , father =Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of Hungary and Bohemia , religion =Roman Catholicism , succession1 =Grand Duke of Tuscany , reign1 =18 Au ...

suppressed it in 1773, to favour that in

Pescia Pescia () is an Italian city in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located in a central zone between the cities Lucca and Florence, on the banks of the river of the same name. History Archaeological excavations have suggest ...

Main sights

*Badia (abbey) of St. Peter, known from 1039. It was held by the Benedictines from 1086 and then by the

Camaldolese The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona ( la, Congregatio Eremitarum Camaldulensium Montis Coronae), commonly called Camaldolese is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Their name is derived from the Holy Hermita ...

from 1103. It reached its maximum splendour in the later 13th century, but by the Battle of Altopascio (1325) it began to decline, and was abandoned in 1408. Of the medieval original structure, only the exterior of the apse remain. *Church of ''Santi Jacopo, Cristoforo and Eligio'' (best known as ''San Jacopo Maggiore''), annexed to the ''Spedale''. It was a medieval hospital complex, of which the cloister, the bell tower and parts (façade and apse area) of the Romanesque church.

Sister cities

El Perelló El Perelló is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Baix Ebre in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the north of the ''comarca'', below the Boix and Cabrafeixet ranges. The N-340 road runs around the town, and connects it with the A-7 ''aut ...

, Spain * Saint-Gilles, France

References

External links

*
Tourism in Altopascio
Cities and towns in Tuscany {{Lucca-geo-stub