About 100,000 years ago seismic shifts created a fissure in the Earth’s crust, in the area of Incisa Valdarno, near San Giovanni. The fissure allowed waters to flow away and lots of watercourses began to flow, from the surrounding hillsand mountains, into the new river that originated from the old lake: the river Arno.
The foundation of the town was the result of a specific political decision taken by the Florentine Republic during the Consiglio dei Cento on 26th January 1299. Despite coming within the broader framework of the Terre Nuove (New Lands), the construction of San Giovanni had an entirely innovative significance. Castro Sancti Iohannis was effectively conceived not simply as a defensive outpost against expansionist ambitions, such as those of Arezzo, but as a veritable satellite of the larger Florence which would mark a turning-point in the touchy situation of friction between the Florentine government and the feudal power vaunted by various local noble dynasties. According to the Florentine plan, the population of the new residential centre was to be achieved by moving to the town small groups of residents from the surrounding villages, groups of families subjected to the feudal system, whose agricultural labor guaranteed the wealth of the feudal lords. By promising them freedom and ten years’ exemption in return for their moving to the new town of Castel San Giovanni, in one stroke the Florentines obtained a consistent number of new citizens and at the same time weakened the power of the feudal lords who could no longer rely on a resource which was fundamental for the cultivation of their landholdings. With a constantly expanding population, the Florentine new town was conceived and structured from the start on a highly evolved and functional model, investe with specific legal, social and economic competencies. In a short time San Giovanni became the seat of Podesteria (civic government) in 1336, and in 1408 assumed the role of Vicariato del contado (District Vicariate) for the Upper Valdarno. THE URBAN STRUCTURE The urban layout and the Palazzo Pretorio were designed by Arnolfo di Cambio. The urban area, enclosed within rectangular walls with four entrance gates and a series of perimeter towers, was subdivided into symmetrical islands. The main axis of the town of San Giovanni correspond to what is now Corso Italia, an ancient communication route which crossed the valley connecting Florence to Arezzo. The other streets of the town centre were arranged parallel or perpendicular to the main street, coming together in a single large transversal piazza, divided into two by the Palazzo Pretorio, better known as the Palazzo d’Arnolfo.
In 1478 the plague killed most of the population of San Giovanni. Even the parents of three months old Lorenzo died and he stood alone with his grandmother Monna Tancia. The woman was 75 years old and she was desperate because she did not know how to feed her grandchild. She stood in front of the image of the Virgin and prayed. When Monna Tancia returned home, the miracle happened: the milk flowed from her breast so she could feed and save little Lorenzo. From that day onwards, many believers came to pray to the Virgin… and around the sacred image it was built what is now the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
During the late 18th century the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Peter Leopold abolished death penalty and torture. IT WAS THE FIRST NATION IN THE WORLD TO DO SO! On 30th November 1786, after having de facto blocked capital executions (the last was in 1769), Leopold promulgated the reform of the penal code that abolished the death penalty and ordered the destruction of all the instruments for capital execution in Tuscany. It was also founded an early institution for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents. Leopold also developed and supported many social and economic reforms: On 23rd January 1774, the LEGGE SUI PAZZI (law regarding the insane) was established, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND TO BE INTRODUCED IN EUROPE. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany introduced new humanitarian regulations in the running of the hospital and caring for the mentally ill patients, including banning the use of chains and physical punishment.
The bottom of the lake filled with sediment (clay, gravel, sand, pebbles,...), causing the level of the lake to raise and to widen. The lake was 40 km long by 10 km wide, but it was only a few hundred metres deep.
More than three millions of years ago, movements of the Earth’s surface caused a depression between Mount Pratomagno and Chianti hills. Waters that were running there could not flow away anymore. A 20 km long lake was born.
The erosion of the waters’s flow along the edges of the lake created steep vertical walls: the “Balze”. Even today, you can see sediment’s layers of the different ages in this natural wonder near our town.
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