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History

The municipality of San Piero a Sieve is located in the plain of Mugello crossed by the Sieve River, an important tributary of the Arno. Since 2014 it has been joined to the City of Scarperia giving rise to the Commune of Scarperia and San Piero.

The oldest traces of San Piero date back to the Middle Paleolithic. Subsequently the territory was invaded by the Etruscans. At this time we can admire the archaic tomb probably built between the 6th and the 7th centuries at the Mozzete (fraction of the San Piero a Sieve municipality). Today, only the remains are visible.

The territory subsequently passed under the control of the Romans, of which we can still admire many archaeological finds today.

San Piero a Sieve develops in 1018 with the name “Villa” along the ancient bridge over the Sieve that united the Bolognese to the Passo del Giogo. In addition, its importance was due to the fact that from the country passed the only road that at that time joined Florence to Bologna.

In 1105 it changed his name to Villa Savae. Finally, in 1117, the original name of the village was joined  with Pieve di San Pietro, so “San Piero” was born.

Initially San Piero belonged to the Ubaldini family of Coldaia, who founded a country based on the rural economy. After that, the country passed into the hands of the doctors. Precisely in this period San Piero spends a period of splendor: he gained political importance and increased the population.

More and more people traveled the road that crossed San Piero, and for this reason it was necessary to build structures for the reception and hospitality of travelers and traders.

In 1372, at the wish of the Florentine Republic, the masonry bridge was built on river Sieve by Niccolò di Ciardo, Francesco Carletti and Giovanni Mercati.

Thanks to the successes of Medici’s politics (XIV-XV century), San Piero a Sieve lives a period of splendor. During this period many villas and castles were built, such as Cafaggiolo, Trebbio, Villa Adami and Villa Schifanoia.

With the decadence of the Medici family, San Piero a Sieve started its decline.

The country regained importance with the construction of the railway station at the end of the nineteenth century and began again the movement of people and goods.