Information San Miniato
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San Miniato is a town and commune in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. San Miniato sits at an historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley between the valleys of Egola and Elsa. It used to carry the additional sobriquet "al Tedesco" (of the Germans) to distinguish it from San Miniato al Monte, just above the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, which is just a few kilometers to the north east. In medieval times, San Miniato was on the via Francigena, which was the main connecting route between northern Europe and Rome. It also sits at the intersection of the Florence-Pisa road and the Lucca-Sienna road. Over the centuries San Miniato was therefore exposed to a constant flow of friendly and hostile armies, traders in all manner of goods and services, and other travelers from near and far. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site of the city and surrounding area has been settled since at least the paleolithic era. It would have been well-known to the Etruscans, and certainly to the Romans, for whom it was a military post called "Quarto". The first mention in historical documents is of a small village organized around a chapel dedicated to San Miniato built by the Lombards in 783. By the end of the 10th century San Miniato boasted a sizeable population enclosed behind a moat and protected by a castle built by Otto I, from which an Imperial Vicar ruled all of Tuscany. The first walls, with defensive towers, were thrown up in the 12th century during the time that Italy was dominated by Frederick Barbarossa. Under his grandson, Frederick II, the town was further fortified with expanded walls and other defensive works, including the Rocca and its tower. (The Rocca has long since disappeared, but the tower, which was blown up by the Nazis during the second world war has been totally rebuilt and restored.) During the latter years of the 13th century and the entire 14th century, San Miniato was drawn into the ongoing conflict between the Ghibelline and Guelph forces. Initially Ghibelline, it had become a Guelph city by 1291, allied with Florence and, in 1307, fought with other members of the Guelph league against the Ghibelline Arezzo. By 1347 San Miniato was under Florentine control, where it remained, but for a brief period from 1367-1370 when, instigated by Pisa, it rebelled against Florence, and for another brief period between 1777 and 1779 during the Napoleonic conquest. It was still part of the Grand Duchy of Florence when the Duchy was absorbed into the newly-formed Kingdom of Italy in 1860. The municipal district of San Miniato is in the region/district of Tuscany and it's in the province of Pisa. the postcode is 56027 and the code number is +39 0571. Inhabitants are 26.353 and the surface is about 102 km2, with a density of population about 257 people for km2. Distance: from Rome 239 km, from Florence 33 km and from Venice 228 km.
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