Stia
Encyclopedia
Stia is a comune
(municipality) in the Province of Arezzo
in the Italian
region Tuscany
, located about 40 km east of Florence
and about 40 km northwest of Arezzo
. The village of Stia is often called the "source of the Arno
", although the real source is some 1200 metres higher up on the slopes of Monte Falterona
. However Stia is the first true village the Arno reaches, where it is joined by another river, the Staggia, that starts at Passo la Calla to the north-east. It is suggested that the name 'Stia' comes from a corruption of the river Staggia's name. As well as the being situated on the confluence of the Arno and the Staggia, Stia also has its own spring that rises in the park of Palagio Fiorentino, which has now been channelled so the water flows from ten permanent taps.
Stia is also the first station on the railway line that runs down the valley, following the Arno, to Arezzo. Stia borders the following municipalities: Londa
, Pratovecchio
, San Godenzo
, Santa Sofia
.
Stia boasts a pair of covered arcades that run along either side of the piazza, today housing a variety of shops, bars and restaurants. On entering the piazza from the lower end, the baroque facade of Santa Maria della Assunta dominates the left hand side of the street. The plain 19th century facade belies the fact that inside is a well preserved Romanesque interior that is at least six hundred years older.
The original church was built around 1150 for the Guidi Counts at Porciano, although a scared site here was documented even earlier in 1017. The original facade was demolished in 1776 when the piazza was enlarged, and was rebuilt in the present Baroque style.
Inside the sandstone columns are topped with capitals decorated with flora, animals and stylized people. The church also contains a glazed blue and white terracotta Madonna and Child; an example of the artist Andrea della Robbia
's work.
The campanile at the rear of the church has been altered several times over its history, with the current belfry and clock added in the eighteenth century.
Historically the Casentino was a fertile valley with various industries helping make the area prosper. Timber was important during the Medici period for ship building, as was the woolen fabric, produced first to clothe the monks and nuns in the area, and then the wealthy families of Tuscany. 'Panno Casentino' was originally made with yarn spun by local women at home, and later was produced in "modern cloth mills which line the Staggia" (Ella Noyes, 1905). At its height,the largest wool mill in Stia, built in 1838, employed over 500 people, and produced 700,000 metres of cloth a year.
The fatory is now a museum of wool production.
, Germany Olbernhau, Germany Mynämäki
, Finland Bad Hall
, Austria Ybbsitz
, Netherlands Oude IJsselstreek
, Netherlands
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
(municipality) in the Province of Arezzo
Province of Arezzo
The Province of Arezzo or Arretium is the easternmost province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Arezzo.It has an area of 3,232 km², and a total population of 323,288 in 39 comuni . At June 30, 2005, the main comuni by population are:- External links :...
in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
region Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, located about 40 km east of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and about 40 km northwest of Arezzo
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
. The village of Stia is often called the "source of the Arno
Arno
The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber.- Source and route :The river originates on Mount Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a southward curve...
", although the real source is some 1200 metres higher up on the slopes of Monte Falterona
Monte Falterona
Monte Falterona is a mountain in the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apeninnes, in the Casentino traditional region, standing at 1,654 m. It is part of the Casentino forests, Monte Falterona and Campigna National Park....
. However Stia is the first true village the Arno reaches, where it is joined by another river, the Staggia, that starts at Passo la Calla to the north-east. It is suggested that the name 'Stia' comes from a corruption of the river Staggia's name. As well as the being situated on the confluence of the Arno and the Staggia, Stia also has its own spring that rises in the park of Palagio Fiorentino, which has now been channelled so the water flows from ten permanent taps.
Stia is also the first station on the railway line that runs down the valley, following the Arno, to Arezzo. Stia borders the following municipalities: Londa
Londa (FI)
Londa is a municipality in the Province of Florence in the central Italian region Tuscany.-Geography:The neighbouring communes are Dicomano, Pratovecchio , Rufina, San Godenzo and Stia....
, Pratovecchio
Pratovecchio
-History:Dono di Paolo, father of the Florentine artist Paolo Uccello, was a barber-surgeon from Pratovecchio. Dono moved to Florence and became a citizen there in 1373.-Main sights:...
, San Godenzo
San Godenzo
San Godenzo is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 35 km northeast of Florence, in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines....
, Santa Sofia
Santa Sofia, Italy
Santa Sofia is a comune in the Province of Forlì-Cesena in the Italian region Emilia–Romagna, located about 80 km southeast of Bologna and about 35 km southwest of Forlì....
.
Main sights
Stia grew up as the market place below the Guidi castle at Porciano. Presumably due to the topography, the piazza is not a normal square, but a more unusual triangular shape, sloping steeply at its far end. Today called Piazza Tanucci, after the Bernardo Tanucci, an Italian statesman, who was born in Stia in 1698.Stia boasts a pair of covered arcades that run along either side of the piazza, today housing a variety of shops, bars and restaurants. On entering the piazza from the lower end, the baroque facade of Santa Maria della Assunta dominates the left hand side of the street. The plain 19th century facade belies the fact that inside is a well preserved Romanesque interior that is at least six hundred years older.
The original church was built around 1150 for the Guidi Counts at Porciano, although a scared site here was documented even earlier in 1017. The original facade was demolished in 1776 when the piazza was enlarged, and was rebuilt in the present Baroque style.
Inside the sandstone columns are topped with capitals decorated with flora, animals and stylized people. The church also contains a glazed blue and white terracotta Madonna and Child; an example of the artist Andrea della Robbia
Andrea della Robbia
Andrea della Robbia was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, especially in ceramics. He was the son of Marco della Robbia. Andrea della Robbia's uncle, Luca della Robbia, popularized the use of glazed terra-cotta for sculpture...
's work.
The campanile at the rear of the church has been altered several times over its history, with the current belfry and clock added in the eighteenth century.
Historically the Casentino was a fertile valley with various industries helping make the area prosper. Timber was important during the Medici period for ship building, as was the woolen fabric, produced first to clothe the monks and nuns in the area, and then the wealthy families of Tuscany. 'Panno Casentino' was originally made with yarn spun by local women at home, and later was produced in "modern cloth mills which line the Staggia" (Ella Noyes, 1905). At its height,the largest wool mill in Stia, built in 1838, employed over 500 people, and produced 700,000 metres of cloth a year.
The fatory is now a museum of wool production.
Twin towns
KolbermoorKolbermoor
Kolbermoor is a town in the district of Rosenheim, in Bavaria, Germany.It is situated 5 km west of Rosenheim.It is the birthplace of football players Paul Breitner and Bastian Schweinsteiger....
, Germany Olbernhau, Germany Mynämäki
Mynämäki
Mynämäki is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is....
, Finland Bad Hall
Bad Hall
Bad Hall is a market town in the Steyr-Land district in central Upper Austria, Austria. It has 5,200 inhabitants, as of 2006 estimates, in an area of 13.38 km². Its name, Bad Hall, means "Bath salt", a reference to its long history of baths and spas....
, Austria Ybbsitz
Ybbsitz
Ybbsitz is a town in the district of Amstetten in Lower Austria in Austria....
, Netherlands Oude IJsselstreek
Oude IJsselstreek
Oude IJsselstreek is a municipality in the eastern Netherlands. It came into existence on 1 January, 2005 through a merger of the former municipalities Gendringen and Wisch.- Geography and population centres :...
, Netherlands
Sources
- Eckenstein, Lina. Through the Casentino with Hints for the Traveller (London, J.M.Dent & Co., 1902).
- Jepson, Tim; Buckley, Johnathan; Ellingham, Mark. Tuscany & Umbria (London, Rough Guides, 2003).
- Kleinhenz, Christopher (ed). Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia (New York, Routledge, 2004).
- Machiavelli, Niccolò. The History of Florence (A New Translation. London, Henry Bohn, 1847).
- Noyes, Ella. The Casentino and its Story (London, J.M.Dent & Co, 1905).
- Ring, Trudy; Sulkin, Robert; La Boda, Sharon (eds). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe, Vol 3 (New York, Routledge, 1996).
- Trollope, T. Adolophus. A History of the Commonwealth of Florence (London, Chapman and Hall, 1865).
- Wickham, C.J. The Mountain and the City: The Tuscan Appennines in the Early Middle Age (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1988).
- Williams, H.W. Travels in Italy, Greece, and the Ionian Islands (Edinburgh, Archibald Constable & Co., 1820).