The History of Castelfalfi

In 1926, the farmers of the Biondi family discovered an Etruscan chamber tomb in the area of ​​Rignano near Castelfalfi, containing three limestone cinerary urns with mutilated anthropomorphic lids. A coin found in the tomb, a bronze semis of Caius Maiano, allowed it to be dated back to 190 BC. In the 1980s, a tuff cavity used as a cellar was discovered in the area of ​​the I Bianchi farm, originally an Etruscan chamber tomb of the Hellenistic period, with a corridor leading to a cave with a central square room and three semicircular rooms forming a cross.

The first evidence of Castelfalfi is linked to the foundation of the Abbey of San Pietro a Palazzuolo during the reign of King Astolfo (749-756 AD), by Walfredo della Gherardesca, abbot, who later became a saint. The abbey, under the order of Saint Benedict and free from episcopal interference, owned assets in various Tuscan areas, including the village of Castelfalfi. A document from the 8th century AD describes Castelfalfi as a fief divided into curtis (residence of the lord) and pars massaricia (residence of the farmers). The village called castrum Faolfi (i.e. Faolfo Castle) is inhabited and the cultivation of vines and olives is practiced there. Faolfo, a Lombard prince, was most likely the founder of the castle of Castelfalfi.

The document of December 6, 1230 attests to the passage of the community of Castelfalfi under the jurisdiction of the Podestà of San Miniato for security reasons. Preserved in the State Archives of Florence, it reports that the consuls of Castelfalfi declare their submission to the Podestà of San Miniato, agreeing to pay taxes and offer labor services for the maintenance of the territory. Furthermore, the community had to donate a 10-pound candle to the church of Santa Maria di San Miniato every year on August 15. This document marks the loss of autonomy of Castelfalfi and its integration into the Florentine Dominion.

Thanks to the 15th century fiscal documentary sources, it is possible to enter the streets of the village, its houses, getting to know the inhabitants and their activities one by one. In 1427, thirty-five families lived in Castelfalfi in 1427, the average age was 27, the main activity was agriculture and a charcoal pile was the energy source of the village. Thus, for example, we know the patriarchal family of Andrea di Bondo with three houses in the village and many farms cultivated with what are still today typical products of the area: oil, wine and wheat. The Bondo family also owns an oil mill that bears witness to a historic olive oil tradition that has been handed down for centuries in Castelfalfi. Further historical evidence of the value that agricultural production has assumed over the centuries for Castelfalfi are the rules for the use of the common oil mill and those that regulate the grape harvest that we find written in the community Statute of 1546.

Born as a Lombard garrison, the first evidence of the Castelfalfi Castle dates back to the 14th century during the Florentine hegemony in the Pisan area. The two original towers, dating back to the 14th century and belonging to the Guelph Party, were mainly used to defend the territory. In 1480, members of the Caetani family declared that they owned the castle, which at the time consisted of two towers placed to protect and control the valley. During the 15th century, the Caetani family took control of Castelfalfi and it was Giovanfrancesco Caetani and Costanza de' Medici who, after their marriage in 1489, renovated the castle, transforming it into a noble residence, which they chose as their home. Among the families who led the community in the following centuries after the Caetani were the Desideri, the Tornaquinci and finally the Biondi family.

As evidence of the presence of the prestigious Medici and Caetani families in Castelfalfi and of their permanence in the village, there remain a marble emblem and numerous coats of arms with the emblems of both families, still present in the castle, and a portrait of Costanza, attributable to an artist of the Florentine school of the fifteenth century, today in the National Gallery and of which a copy is exhibited inside our castle.

The first evidence of the parish church of San Floriano in Castelfalfi dates back to the end of the 13th century. San Floriano, a Christian martyr from the 3rd century AD, is invoked as a protector against fires, droughts and other natural disasters, and is celebrated on May 4th. Although remaining within the diocese of Volterra, in 1491 the parish church passed under the jurisdiction of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The parish church has undergone important architectural modifications, one in the 16th century and another in the 20th century. In 1619, the lay company dedicated to the Virgin Mary was founded, whose headquarters are to be placed in the area, still visible and visitable today, located to the right of the central body of the church.

It is reasonable to think that the small building that is today on the left at the beginning of the village of Castelfalfi, often referred to as Villa, was built on the site of an ancient oil mill, already present in the 15th century, owned in part by Gerozzo Bardi, a member of the famous family of Florentine bankers, and in part by the rich Castelfalfi owner Andrea di Biondo. In 1511 Bernardo di Iacopo di Gerozzo Bardi sold the property to the community of Castelfalfi, which in 1729 expressed the will to complete the restoration of a building clearly defined as the one where the oil mill was once located. In 1770, the Desideri family purchased the building which was in a poor state of conservation due to an earthquake and which still included an oil mill. The building has changed a lot from the previous centuries, and has now taken on the qualification and appearance of a lord's house. In the 19th century, having become the property of the Biondi family, the area occupied by the building is briefly described as a villa, with a courtyard and garden, in the appearance that it still retains today.

Antonio Biondi (1848-1929), a native and resident of Castelfalfi, was a patron of botany. He financed a historic expedition to the East to search for new plants, experimented with innovative cultivation techniques and was passionate about plant fossils. His most famous undertaking was financing the Franciscan missionary Father Giuseppe Giraldi on an expedition to China between 1888 and 1901. The strong bond between Biondi and Father Giraldi led to the discovery of the Lilium Biondi and the Magnolia Biondi, which forever linked Biondi and Castelfalfi to botany. It is plausible to imagine that Biondi planted bulbs of his Lilium or seeds of his Magnolia in the Italian garden in front of the villa where Biondi lived; later, during the 21st century, a small residential building was built near the garden, today known as Casa Giardino.