Pietrafitta
Welcome to Pietrafitta!
Hello everyone, today we will talk about Pietrafitta, a small hamlet in the municipality of Piegaro, located in the province of Perugia.
Physical Geography
The village is located 276 meters above sea level, on a slope of a hill overlooking the Nestore Valley. 694 residents live here and there is a powerful Enel power plant for the production of electricity dedicated to Franco Rasetti.
Among the natural attractions of the area is the Lake of Pietrafitta, artificially connected to the nearby Nestore River, which in turn is a tributary of the Tiber River. The lake was built during mining activity in the plain below the village. In fact, there were imposing lignite deposits extracted by the Terni Company, which was very active in extraction for steel production in the Terni blast furnaces.
History
The history of Pietrafitta has deep roots. In prehistoric times, the area was occupied by the Tavernelle basin in Panicale, a residue of the ancient Tiberine lake, and the lacustrine vegetation was deposited forming lignite deposits where fossil remains of vertebrates, invertebrates, macroflora, and mammal pollen such as elephants, rhinos, and antelopes were found.
In the historic era, during the mid-twelfth century, a number of laborers settled in the area to work the lands of the nearby Benedictine monastery. The name of the village seems to derive from the presence of numerous quarries in the surrounding area and from the soft sandstone soil that gives the impression of being "fake stone." In 1352, Pietrafitta was attacked by the troops in the pay of Count Nolfo of Urbino, during the so-called "war of Bettona." The village was transformed into a fortress and was weakened only in 1403, when Perugia had to intervene to reduce its defenses.
With the descent of the French in 1798, Pietrafitta was involved in the area of interest of Panicale, and only in 1817 did it definitively pass to the municipality of Piegaro.
Economy
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the imposing lignite deposits were discovered in the plain below the village. In addition to the work of miners, the Terni Company started an open-pit mining activity, and after the war, in 1958, a thermal power plant fueled by lignite extracted from the area was built and operated until 2001, leading to the depletion of the lignite deposit.
Today, the combined cycle power plant powered by methane with a total capacity of 370 Megawatts, recently dedicated to the Umbrian physicist Franco Rasetti, is still active. Over the years of mining, many fossil remains were found inside the bench, which can now be admired in a museum built at the foot of the village.
Furthermore, the Lake of Pietrafitta, built where there was previously mining activity in the area, is one of the main recreational areas for residents and hosts a considerable amount of aquatic fauna, becoming an interesting tourist attraction for the area.
Conclusions
Pietrafitta is a small hamlet immersed in nature, with a millennial history that has developed around mining activity and the energy produced by the lignite deposits in the area. Today, the village continues to prosper thanks to the combined cycle thermal power plant powered by methane.
The artificial Lake of Pietrafitta and the museum exhibiting the fossil remains found in the years of mining activity, make the village a place of historical and cultural importance in the province of Perugia, and an ideal place for a holiday. If you haven't already, I invite you to visit Pietrafitta, to admire its beauty and learn about the history of this small hamlet of Piegaro.
