Gambugliano
Welcome to Gambugliano, the small town on the hill!
Hello everyone! Today I want to talk to you about Gambugliano, a delightful town located in the province of Vicenza, in Veneto. This village is small, with only 834 inhabitants, but it is very charming. It is located 133 meters above sea level and is about 13 kilometers from the city of Vicenza.
The territory: a combination of hills and plains
The territory of Gambugliano extends for 7.95 square kilometers and mainly comprises the hills of the Castellari Mountains, often called Pre-Lessini, and only to a small extent extends into the plain. In the valley called "Valdiezza", which coincides with the flat area, a stream called Valdiezza flows and flows into the Retrone river.
The valley part of the territory dates back to the Oligocene epoch and under the limestone of that period, there are marls and clays of the upper Eocene. The whole territory is also very rich in fossils from the Miocene and Oligocene epochs. In the locality of "Il Covolo", located in the territory of Gambugliano, the richest fossil deposit of Natica (zoology) (a gastropod) was found in Italy, in the 1970s.
The origin of the name: between ancient times and popular tradition
The origin of the name "Gambugliano" is very ancient and established. In fact, the Latin name of the village, Gambullanum, refers to the name of a fund or property of a man named Cambullius (fundus Cambullianus).
However, popular tradition has it that the name "Gambugliano" originates from two dialectal words, "gran e bojon", meaning "big" and "mud", which could be translated as "great mud". According to this version, the name would have been given due to the presence of some springs in the territory, which seem to gush from the ground like natural boiling water.
The history of Gambugliano: from ancient populations to the church of San Lorenzo
The territory of Gambugliano has been inhabited since the pre-Roman era, probably by the Euganei, the oldest population in northeastern Italy of pre-Indo-European type. Later, the Veneti settled in the area due to the plain that pushed them towards hilly and mountainous areas. It is precisely with the latter that the Euganei merged, approaching for similar customs and culture around the first millennium BC.
A curious aspect of these populations was their cult of the dead: in fact, they cremated the dead and collected the ashes in pots or also used the real burial, anticipating the cult of the dead of the Romans.
The first ascertained references to the name of Gambugliano date back to the 13th century, although its origin is much older. Its only fraction, Monte San Lorenzo, instead dates back to the 14th century and takes its name from the church of San Lorenzo, which is already mentioned in a Vatican document from 1297.
The patrons of the village are San Vito, Modesto and Crescenzia, while the fraction of Monte San Lorenzo has as its patron Saint Lawrence.
Conclusion: Gambugliano, a hidden treasure in the Venetian hills.
Dear friends, Gambugliano is a small hidden treasure in the Venetian hills, a place where history and nature meet in a perfect union. This village offers us the opportunity to immerse ourselves in its ancient history and to discover how it has changed through the centuries. If you ever have the chance to visit it, do not miss the opportunity to savor the authenticity of life in a hill town. You are welcome to Gambugliano, the small town on the hill!
