The Valdinievole
One of the most interesting areas in the richly varied territory of the Province of Pistoia is the Nievole Valley, where specific vocations with strong unitary characteristics can be discovered within its environmental context. The Nievole Valley is characterised by three principal zones: the first is mountainous, with some peaks reaching 1.000 metres in height, the second formed of hilly country and the third derived from an area of lakes and swamps. Very probably this last area, with its stagnant waters that caused the atmospheric phenomenon of persistent fogs, may have given the Nievole Valley its name, which means the “Valley of the Mists”. The continuous floods from the swampy areas made the climate of the plain particularly unhealthy, therefore not encouraging the creation of settlements. The towns in fact were more or less forced to grow up in the hilly areas that close off the entire area to the east and north west. The mountain and hilltop towns of Pontito, Vellano, Buggiano, Uzzano, Massa, Cozzile, Marliana, Montecatini, Monsummano, Serravalle, Larciano, etc, therefore grew up to offer the local population a safe refuge. We can in fact still find traces in the mountain areas of the fortifications of the many castles that were built over the years, whose defensive system, covering the entire territory, was designed to keep them in close contact with each other. The first works to reclaim the marshy areas, thus regulating the anthropical settlement of the Nievole Valley, were started in the 16th century by the Medici family, whose idea was to use the newly drained land for agriculture. This reclaiming work continued off and on until the mid 18th century, when the Lorraine family, who had succeeded the Medici, gave life to more extensive works that included the general improvement of the entire area and the transfer of the Grand Ducal farms. These alterations radically changed the aspect of the Nievole Valley. The great watershed, once an important source of economic support and a useful waterway to reach the sea, was notably reduced, thus creating the conditions we can find today.
The rich water supplies in the area are also linked to the presence of the hot springs whose therapeutic qualities have been known since antiquity. Spas like Monsummano and Montecatini, where the construction of the thermal baths was started in the second half of the 18th century at the desire of the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine, are closely connected to the knowledge and use of these waters.