The surroundings

HISTORICALINFORMATION:CAPRAIA FIORENTINA The little town of Capraia Fiorentina arose along the River Arno and its old origin is testified by several Etruscan finds. It had a strategic, military and economic importance in the Middle Ages. The very structure of its " Castle ", situated on the top of a hill, shows that Capraia controlled the neighbouring territory, facing any river- or land threat. Capraia Fiorentina Its narrow streets and the disposition of its houses reveal its feudal structure, mainly concentrated on the working of the ceramics. A visit to the Fornace Pasquinucci, exhibition centre where people can admire the manufacturing of the clay, will be very interesting. Starting from Piazza Dori and going up through Via del Castello, people can appreciate the atmosphere of the village in the years between 1000 and 1300. In Piazza Pucci we are in front of the Church of Saint Stephen, where the body of St. Grania (patroness of children ) is jealously kept. Every year, on May the 1st, at midnight, there is a beautiful event called " St. Grania's Fires ", during the which all the inhabitants of Capraia meet in front of huge bonfires, in honour of the Saint. The following day, by the Church of Saint Stephen all the children and the faithful are blessed. From Capraia you can see Montelupo F.no, famous city of the ceramics. The two towns, once rivals because of the fights between Guelfi and Ghibellini, have step by step drawn near. The jug exhibited at the British Museum of London, on which people can read the famous sentence " From Montelupo you can see Capraia, God creates people and love pairs them ", is a significant testimony of this friendship.