San Marcello Pistoiese was 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 ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Pistoia The province of Pistoia ( it, provincia di Pistoia) is a province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Pistoia and the province is landlocked. It has an area of and a total population of 291,788 inhabitants (as of 2 ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

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 ...

, located about northwest 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 an ...

and about northwest of

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

. It has been a

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

San Marcello Piteglio San Marcello Piteglio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pistoia in Tuscany, Italy. It was created in 2016 after the merger of the former communes of San Marcello Pistoiese and Piteglio. The hamlet of Gavinana is notable for the sit ...

since 2017.

History

Before the Roman conquest (3rd-2nd centuries BC), the area was likely inhabited by some Italic tribe, such as the

Ligures The Ligures (singular Ligur; Italian: liguri; English: Ligurians) were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day north-western Italy, is named. Ancient Liguria corresponded more or less to the current Italian regio ...

. The Roman senator

Catilina Lucius Sergius Catilina ( 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier. He is best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to violently seize control of the R ...

died in 62 BC in a battle not far from here. During the Middle Ages, San Marcello was an independent

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

(13th century), until it fell to Pistoia in the late 14th century. The ''

'' of Gavinana was the location of the eponymous battle in 1530. The original settlement started to grow substantially after the construction of the road connecting Pistoia to

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

, which passed through it (1781). In 1864 it was connected by the Ferrovia Porrettana, from Pistoia to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, later expanded with an electric tramway line ( Ferrovia Alto Pistoiese), from

Pracchia Pracchia is an Italian village and hamlet (''frazione'') of the municipality of Pistoia, in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany. In 2011 it had a population of 268. History Due to its position, the village hosted a customs between the Grand Duchy of ...

to San Marcello. The town has the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Italy,

Ponte sospeso di San Marcello Piteglio The Suspension Bridge of San Marcello Piteglio (or in Italian, Ponte sospeso di San Marcello Piteglio) is the longest pedestrian suspension bridge or suspension footbridge in Italy, spanning the river Lima between the neighborhoods of Popiglio and ...

, connecting the frazione of Mammiano Basso and Popiglio, and spanning the river Lima.

Science

San Marcello is home to the

Pistoia Mountains Astronomical Observatory The Pistoia Mountains Astronomical Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico della Montagna Pistoiese; obs. code: 104), also known as the ''San Marcello Observatory'' and the ''Pian dei Termini Observatory'' ( it, Osservatorio di Pian dei Termin ...

References

Cities and towns in Tuscany San Marcello Piteglio {{Pistoia-geo-stub