La Rotta
La Rotta: A Tuscan hamlet
Hello everyone! Today I want to talk to you about La Rotta, a hamlet located in the municipality of Pontedera, in the province of Pisa, in Tuscany. La Rotta is situated slightly uphill and is located between Pontedera, Montecastello, and Castel del Bosco. In this area, there is also the locality of Pietroconti, where the Braccini lake and furnace are located. But where does the name La Rotta come from?
Origins of the name
The name of the hamlet comes from the point where the Arno river broke its banks. It is said that the Arno, in times past, made a turn before the current locality that led it towards the marsh of Bientina, before returning to Pontedera. The break of the bank led to a straightening of the river and apparently gave the name to the area where this "break" occurred. In addition to this, there are different historical references that attribute the name of La Rotta to what happened after the famous battle of Casteldelbosco between the Pisans and the Florentines, where the Florentine army succeeded over the Pisan army and the inevitable "rout" of the army would have given the name to the area where it happened.
History
Unfortunately, there is little information about the history of La Rotta, as the archive of Montecastello, to which it originally belonged, was destroyed. What we know is that in the area, belonging to the fief of Montecastello, an outpost was built in the 7th-8th century. From the 10th to the 12th century, like the nearby areas along the Arno river, the production of bricks began. In the mid-17th century, there is certain news of the construction of the first furnace. In 1666, there was the request of Cosimo Leoncini to be able to build an Oratory in the village. Only in 1788 was the new parish of La Rotta established, separating from Montecastello. In 1847, with the construction of the Leopolda railway, La Rotta was also equipped with the La Rotta station, although it was not very close to the village. The station was decommissioned in 2002. In 1873, on the other hand, the school and the adjacent Garibaldi square, obtained from a vineyard, were inaugurated.
After the Second World War, the prevailing brick-making activity of the Rottigiani ceased and with it the closed economy that distinguished La Rotta from neighboring places for centuries.
Monuments and places of interest
But let's now talk about something more interesting: the monuments and places of interest that can be visited in La Rotta. The parish church of San Matteo took on its current configuration in 1870 following an extension and the construction of a new bell tower on the right side of the facade, inaugurated by Mons. Annibale Barabesi, then destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt in the post-war period. Also during the period when Emilio Novelli was the prior (1845-1882), the church was enriched with the main altar, erected with marbles donated by Pope Pius IX, and the 14th-century "Miraculous Crucifix", donated by Marchesa Vettori Tempi's heir, thanks to the support of the Bertini, Bianchi, Capecchi, Quaratesi, and Toscanelli families, and carried in procession from the Cappella delle Vallicelle of Cavalier Niccolò Bertini Quaratesi to the church on September 7, 1872.
Conclusions
Here is some curiosity about the small and fascinating Tuscan hamlet of La Rotta. I hope I have intrigued you enough to make you want to visit it! Thanks to its strategic position, La Rotta is easily accessible from any nearby location. What are you waiting for? Join me in discovering the hidden treasures of this historic hamlet!
