Casciana is a small village with green and gentle slopes, dotted with ancient and sunny houses. The town is known for its famous thermal springs, whose waters, full of bicarbonate, sulphates and calcium, surface at a temperature of 35.7°C and are famed for their remarkable therapeutic qualities. Its reputation has a centre for health goes back a long way. Indeed, the first thermal spring was commissioned in 1311 by Federico da Montefeltro.
The area is rich in culture. Walking around Casciana will make you feel as though you’re living in the past, but with all the elegance and class of a spa resort. The town’s imposing walls, which have three different entrances, surround the entire area of a beautiful medieval fortress, Castello dei Vicari.
Due to its position, the castle was an important military garrison of the Pisan Republic; however, it later became home to the governors who ruled it on behalf of Florence. Today it is home to the Filippo Baldinucci Museum, where Etruscan and Roman artifacts, Della Robbian glazed terracottas and Renaissance frescoes are on display. The Rooms of Torture are also open to the public; these consist of the prisons and basements which, according to legend, are still inhabited by the ghost of Rosso della Paola, who was imprisoned here because of his political beliefs.
The hamlet of Perignano is known as the Furniture City; certainly, it is famed nationwide thanks to its furniture factories and numerous showrooms.
There is a large network of paths near the village, with which you can discover interesting landscapes and smaller towns like Usigliano, where there is an intriguing Museum of Agricultural Activities. You could also stumble upon Casciana Alta, where you’ll find the Romanesque church of San Nicola in Sessana and the Oratory of the Madonna della Cava.
