Buggiano

The ancient medieval village of Buggiano can be found mentioned in documents from the 10th century.

Buggiano
The ancient medieval village of Buggiano can be found mentioned in documents from the 10th century.
Its dominating position over the whole of the Nievole Valley offers a really suggestive panoramic view. The two gates, Porta San Martino or Fiorentino (St. Martin or Florentine Gate) and the Porta al Borgo or Sermolli (Village or Sermolli Gate), lead into a town that is still partly protected by two rings of walls, one dating from the 11th century and the other from the 14th century.
The upper part of the town is characterised by Palazzo Pretorio and the Church of the Madonna della Salute and San Niccolao. The former, a beautiful example of civic medieval architecture, bears on its facade the coats of arms of the succession of podestas who once ruled Buggiano, while the second, built in the mid 12th century and modified in later years, hosts a 13th century ambo, transformed into a baptismal font at the end of the 16th century.
The Church of Buggiano, together with the Basilica of the Santissimo Crocifisso at Borgo a Buggiano, which contains the wooden crucifix that sweated blood in 1399, also boast really splendid collections of religious artistic objects. We can also find the Church of Santa Marta at Borgo a Buggiano.
The interior not only still contains the grilles behind which the enclosed nuns could follow the Mass, but also the wheel that allowed the Convent to communicate with the outer world.

Villa Bellavista
A few kilometers away from Montecatini Terme, in neighborhood of Borgo a Buggiano, soars the magnificent and imposing Villa Bellavista.
In 1673, Marquis Francesco Feroni purchased a farm with 45 annexed plots of land from Grand Duke Cosimo III de’ Medici. The estate rose on a hill, which was probably formed from the sandbanks of the Fucecchio marshes. Here the Marquis had a building and a private chapel erected that blended harmoniously with the surrounding gardens. Access to the villa is through a majestic avenue flanked by statues and decorative vases, further embellished by a central pool.
Over the course of its history, Villa Bellavista was devoted to several purposes and, during World War II, it was even turned into a hospital. Today, it is property of the Ministry for Home Affairs, which destined it to the Opera Nazionale Assistenza Vigili del Fuoco (National Firefighters Assistance). And, the ground floor of the premises now accommodates an unusual museum devoted to the history of regional fire brigades (Museo Storico regionale del Corpo dei Vigili del Fuoco).
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