The name of the town comes from San Gaudenzio, a hermit who had retired into these mountains in the 6th century. The Benedictine Abbey was built in his name at the end of the 11th century, and the first houses appeared around that time. San Godenzo was under the power of the Guidi counts until 1344 when it became part of the Florentine Republic. The Florentine countryside was expanding and acquiring more territory. Between the late 14th and early 15th centuries, Florence prepared its statute to guarantee the removal of forest resources and the breeding of livestock.
Then with Lorraine’s arrival, some reforms regarding the protection of forests and agriculture were introduced. With the Napoleonic Kingdom (1801-1814), the improvements were interrupted. After the fall of Napoleon, Tuscany passed to the Habsburg-Lorraine families and Leopold II built the “Forlivese” road started earlier as well as the "Muraglione" (“massive wall”), to allow those who needed to exchange work horses to find shelter from the gusty winds that violently sweep the Pass. During this period there was a sharp population increase. In 1944 San Godenzo with all its territory, was besieged by the famous Gothic Line and most of the houses were razed to the ground; in 1945, the reconstruction of San Godenzo began and saw its fortunes revive. Today the village, with its 519 inhabitants, has woodcrafting, carpentry, wrought iron crafting and stone working as its main economic activities, as well as is tourism.
Benedictine Abbey of San Gaudenzio
In the heart of the town, we find the Abbey dedicated to San Gaudenzio, one of the most important Romanesque structures in Tuscany. It was built in 1028 by request of the bishop of Fiesole, Jacopo il Bavaro, and consecrated in 1070 by bishop Trasmondo. On June 8, 1302 the Abbey housed the meeting of the Florentine exiles, the Ghibellines and the White Guelphs; Dante Alighieri was among them. A long stair leads up to the church with its beautifully unadorned stone façade. The interior is vast and solemn and the works of art are very precious: the wooden sculpture of San Sebastiano by Baccio da Montelupo, the polyptych by Bernardo Daddi dated 1333, the Virgin of the Annunciation by the school of Andrea del Sarto (16th century). Of great interest is the 15th century pulpit. In the 20th century, the Abbey was enriched with the great mosaic on the subject of Dante on the roof of the apse, the pipe organ, the baptismal font, and the bell-tower. Tel. +39 333 407168
In the countryside:
- Pieve di San Babila a San Bavello
The church dates back to 1073, and legend has it that Countess Matilda commissioned it. The Pieve can be visited upon request: Tel. Don Bruno +39 333 407168 - San Martino a Castagno D'Andrea
The ancient church is in what is known as “San Martino”; in 1840 it was transferred to the place in which it is now and, hence, destroyed during WWII. It was faithfully reconstructed in 1947. In 1957, on occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of the artist Andrea del Castagno, the painter Pietro Arrigoni presented the church with his famous frescoes of the Crucifix, of the Madonna, and of Saint John (1957-1968). It was on this occasion that the town of Castagno was renamed “Castagno D'Andrea”. - San Niccolò a Casale
In a document dated 1028 we find mention of the locality called “Casale” but nothing about the church which, however, was surely built only a few years later on the ruins of a small castle owned by Guido da Battifolle. The church has a simple, gabled façade and a single nave with an apse. The Romanesque style is made explicit and evident by the use of the beautiful dressed sandstone. Conserved inside are sacred objects prestige. Tel. Don Bruno +39 333 407168
