Colle di Val d'Elsa

Colle di Val d' Elsa (usually only Colle or Colle Val d' Elsa) is a town with 21 361 inhabitants ( 31 December 2012) in Tuscany, province of Siena. It lies in the valley of the Elsa. Worth seeing is the upper town of Colle Alta, which can be reached by a lift from the lower city. The town was formerly famous for its book publishing and glassware.

Geography

The site extends over 92 km ². The municipality is located in the climatic classification of Italian communities in the zone D, 1776 GR / G and is part of the Archdiocese of Siena - Colle di Val d' Elsa - Montalcino.

Among the districts ( Frazioni ) include Bibbiano, Borgatello, Boscona, Buliciano, Campiglia dei Foci, Castel San Gimignano, Collalto Dometaia, Gracciano d' Elsa, Lano, Le Grazie, Le Ville, Mensanello, Montegabbro, Molino d' Aiano, Onci, Partena, Paurano, Quartaia, Sant'Andrea, Scarna and Vico.

The neighboring municipalities are Casole d' Elsa, Monteriggioni, Poggibonsi, San Gimignano and Volterra ( PI).

History

The first historical finds in the municipality date from the 4th millennium BC. Thereafter, the area was inhabited by the Etruscans left the main tracks in the districts Dometaia and Le Ville. Important influence on the history of the city had those (also called Pieve d' Elsa, out at Sigerich the Serious as the 17th day of travel under Aelsae ) Via Francigena on the no longer existing Pieve a Elsa ran along in the district Gracciano.

The present town was built around the 10th century and was in the districts of Borgo di Santa Caterina (today's Colle Basso) and Castello di Piticciano (today Collealto ) divided later was added the so-called city -thirds Piano ( Borgo del Piano ). Is first mentioned in the castle of Piticciano in a document of Aldobrandeschi of 8 October 1007. Mentions more find the place in letters of the popes Paschal II on 27 November 1115 by Gelasius II (27 November 1119) Anastasius IV ( December 7, 1153 ) and Adrian IV ( April 16, 1154 ). In the following, the congregation was looking for allies, she found in San Gimignano and semi Fonte (now occupied and destroyed by Florence in the area of ​​Barberino Val d' Elsa, 1202 ). Opposite were the municipalities of Poggibonsi and Volterra. Former main village was Gracciano, but after the rise of conflicts between Guelphs and Ghibellines or Siena and Florence attracted most of the inhabitants in the Castello, which grew up to the Palazzo Campana, and was now under the name of Castelnuovo de ' Franchi. On September 4, 1260 Colle took part on the side of the Guelphs at the Battle of Montaperti from which the enemy emerged victorious. After the death of Manfred in 1266, the tide turned in favor of the Guelphs, who could beat Siena in the battle of Colle on 16 and June 17, 1269. 1301 Colle entered into an alliance with Florence, Lucca, Siena, Prato, San Gimignano, to compete against Pistoia.

In the 13th century, the so-called Gore were created, an artificial channel system that the water of the Elsa zuführte the place and both the upper and the lower town supplied. At the beginning of the same century, Colle said the free commune, the local statutes with the establishment of the Office of the Capitano del Popolo and the Podestà originated 1307. From 24 September to 2 November, the city suffered from the siege of the troops from Siena and the Kingdom of Naples, which were by Pope Sixtus IV supported. The siege took place in the context and the Pazzi conspiracy and ended with the taking of Colle, the Ponte Campana was destroyed (later rebuilt ). 1481 returned to the place to Florence. After the fall of the Republic of Siena in 1555 returned a time of peace. 1592 the place own diocese was awarded by Clement VIII, which merged on 30 September 1986 in the Archdiocese of Siena - Colle di Val d' Elsa - Montalcino.

Attractions

• Abbazia di Santa Maria Assunta a Conèo, abbey from the 11th century on the Via Francigena.
• Abbazia di San Salvatore in Spugna, abbey from the 11th century.
• Banca del Monte dei Paschi di Siena, by Giovanni Michelucci arisen 1973 Bank of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which was created by the restoration of an old glass factory.
• Casa- Torre di Arnolfo di Cambio, gender tower and birthplace of Arnolfo di Cambio in Via del Castello.
• Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, resulting in 1305 and 1531 to designs by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder modified Gothic style church. Contains among others the works of Madonna with Child by Taddeo di Bartolo, Deposizione e santi ( 1519 arose ) Ridolfo Ghirlandaio and of Pietà and Saints by Ludovico Cigoli.
• Chiesa di Santa Maria in Canonica, for the first time in 1183 documented church in Colle Alta. Includes works by Pier Francesco Fiorentino ( Dio Padre benedicente fresco and altarpiece Madonna col Bambino ei Santi Giovanni Battista, Lorenzo, Marco e Nicola).
• Concattedrale dei Santi Alberto e Marziale (Dom ). The building, begun in 1603 by the architect Fausto Rughesi was on the the 12th- century Chapel of San Salvatoris de Colleveteri and later Pieve dei Santi Salvatore Alberto ed. Contains 1690 resulting frescoes by Giuseppe Nicola Nasini and works by Deifebo Burbarini, Rutilio Manetti, Mino da Fiesole, Astolfo Petrazzi, Pietro Tacca, Ottavio Vannini ( canvas picture Ultima Cena, 1636 originated ).
• Convento di San Francesco, 1229 incurred convent of the Franciscans. Did the stations in San Ludovico di Tolosa e San Francesco by Lippo Memmi, Madonna with Child by Sano di Pietro and Madonna con Bambino con i Santi Domenico e Francesco by Pier Francesco Fiorentino, which are now in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena. Restoration work in 1992, frescoes by Cennino Cennini and Pier Francesco Fiorentino found again.
• Palazzo Campana, palace on Via del Castello with associated bridge (Ponte Campana ). Was built by Baccio d' Agnolo 1536 and is a gate similar.
• Palazzo del Comune, also called Palazzo dei Priori, building from the 13th century, now houses the Museo Civico e d' arte sacra di Colle di Val d' Elsa, in which works of the Badia a Isola Master (Madonna col Bambino e angeli, also called Maestà, comes from the Church Abbazia dei Santi Salvatore e Cirino in the abbey of Isola ( Monteriggioni) ) and of Lorenzo di Bicci (Madonna con Bambino e Santi, Crocifissione di Cristo, comes from the Church of San Giusto a Villore in Poggibonsi), Alessandro Casolani, Cennino Cennini, Segna di Bonaventura, Pier Francesco Fiorentino, Sebastiano Folli, Ridolfo Ghirlandaio ( Compianto su Cristo morto ), Bernardino Mei and Ventura Salimbeni are.
• Palazzo del Podestà, also called Praetorian Palace, former Town Hall from the 14th century. Now houses the Museo Archeologico, the Antiquarium Etrusco " Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli " and is the seat of the Gruppo Archeologico Colligiano.
• Pieve dei Santi Ippolito e Cassiano a Conèo, for the first time 972 documented Pieve.
• Porta Nova, also Porta Salis, Solis or Volterrana called city gate from the 15th century that the older Porta Selva replaced. The plans are to Giuliano da Sangallo attributed.

Culture

• Museo Civico d'Arte Sacra e Diocesan in the Palazzo del Comune
• Teatro dei Varii, 1762 by the architect Antonio Galli da Bibbiena arisen theater with about 200 seats in the Via del Castello 64 was restored from 1982 to 1991.
• Teatro del Popolo, 1928 by Gino arisen Gérard theater, in 1971 and 1996 ( by Piero Guicciardini and Marco Magni ) restored and offers 855 visitors.

Sports

• The football club, founded in 1922 Colligiana played several years in the fünftklassigen series D and in the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione fourth-rate. Currently, the association occurs in the sechstklassigen Excellenza Toscana and plays since 1982 at the Stadio Gino Manni in Via Liguria.

Economy

The place is the center of the Italian crystal glass industry and has a share of 15 % of world production.

Traffic

• Beginning in 1885 Colle di Val d' Elsa was connected through the railway line Poggibonsi, Colle Val d' Elsa on the route from Empoli to Chiusi. 1982, passenger services were set in 1993 reduced the distance.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Bilenchi Romano (1909-1989), Italian journalist and writer
• Arnolfo di Cambio ( 1240/45-1307/10 ), Italian architect and sculptor
• Cennino Cennini (ca. 1370-1440 ), Italian painter

Controversy over mosque

In the spring of 2007, there were protests against the construction of a mosque with a minaret to be eight feet tall. Thus, a pig's head was placed on the building site, to profane the terrain. In the town there was a bitter dispute minaret. Colle di Val d' Elsa, a term also outside Italy.

Colle di Val d' Elsa in the literature

The place and the battle of Colle is mentioned by Dante in the Divine Comedy in the second part ( Purgatorio, 13 singing, line 115-118. ):

( Streckfuß translation )