Casciana Terme (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''Castrum ad Aquas'', ''Balneum ad Aquas'') is a town of 2,500 inhabitants in the ''
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 ...
'' of
Casciana Terme Lari
Casciana Terme Lari is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about southeast of Pisa.
Geography
Casciana Terme Lari borders the following municipalities: C ...
, in the
province of Pisa
The province of Pisa ( it, provincia di Pisa) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Pisa. With an area of and a total population of 421,642 (), it is the second most populous and fif ...
,
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 ...
, central
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
The name Casciana derives from the Latin name of Cassius, with the meaning of "Cassio’s Land”, but the location is first mentioned by the name of Acqui at the end of the 9th century, with reference to the thermal characteristics of the place. The village was called Bagni di Casciana, referring to the center of Casciana, until 1956 when it assumed its present name.
Main sights
Spas
The village is best known for the thermal plant which receives a constant flow of lime-sulfur water at . It is said
[One source for this story is Michèle K. Spike's book,]
An illustrated guide to the one hundred churches of Matilda of Canossa, Countess of Tuscany
(192 pages) published in 2015 by ''Centro Di'', Florence. that the thermal water was discovered by the 12th century Countess
Matilda of Tuscany
Matilda of Tuscany ( it, Matilde di Canossa , la, Matilda, ; 1046 – 24 July 1115 or Matilda of Canossa after her ancestral castle of Canossa), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as th ...
. She had a rather old and sickly
blackbird, which had grayish feathers from age. One day the countess noticed that the blackbird was moving better and his feathers were becoming, once again, an intense black color and his beak was returning to a bright yellow color. She followed the blackbird during its daily morning outings, and discovered that the blackbird would land and dip his legs in a strange "steaming water." The countess wished to try the miraculous waters, and it took very little time for the benefits to be apparent. She then decided to build several baths, which were the first beginnings of the thermal plants that we see today. Up until 1927, the baths were the property of the municipality of Lari.
Churches
*Chiesa di San Martino in Petraija
*Church of
Church of Santa Maria Assunta
*Oratory of
Our Lady of Seven Sorrows
Culture
The patron feast is held May 3 in honor of the ''Santissimo Crocifisso'' (Holy Cross).
Other festivals include:
*Village carnival
*Casciana in Flowers (competition of flowered balconies)
*the feast of San Genesio (a children's feast followed by the launching of balloons with messages of peace)
*“Via del arco" (paintings exhibition)
*The Living Nativity (the Saturday before Christmas)
References
External links
Terme of Casciana
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Tuscany
Frazioni of the Province of Pisa