Asciano: Aqueduct, Routes and Historic Sites

Asciano combines the history of water supply with protected landscapes, historic religious buildings and routes on Monte Pisano. The Cisternone of Asciano is particularly distinctive: the historic building is part of the Acquedotto Mediceo and is located in the protected ANPIL Valle delle Fonti area. It was built in 1695 as part of the Acquedotto Mediceo complex. In Asciano, architectural history and the natural environment thus meet directly.

The Cisternone and the Acquedotto Mediceo

The Cisternone houses a model of the Acquedotto Mediceo of Pisa and its surroundings at a scale of 1:1000. The model covers approximately 60 square metres and shows the state of the aqueduct in the first half of the 19th century. The historic aqueduct itself was begun in 1592 and comprised more than 900 arches over a distance of 6 kilometres. Many sections between Asciano and Pisa can be walked or travelled by bicycle. The section in Asciano runs along Via dei Condotti. This road is used for walking and cycling and also marks the beginning of the trekking route “La Via degli Acquedotti”, which connects Pisa and Lucca via Monte Pisano. This gives you a combination of technical heritage and routes that accommodate different forms of travel, without requiring the aqueduct to be viewed merely as an individual structure. Further routes lead through the landscape around Asciano. Sentiero 121 leads from the Cisternone of the Acquedotto Mediceo in Asciano up to Mirteto. There, the remains of the ancient hermitage of Santa Maria di Mirteto include monastic outbuildings, houses, grain stores and an oil mill. Sentiero 117 begins in Loc. Asciano Valle on the road to Casa del Polacco, the access point to ANPIL Monte Castellare. A Centro Parco and a Foresteria for accommodating hikers are located along Sentiero 117. Another route is called “Dal Cisternone Mediceo al Bottinello di San Rocco – Asciano Pisano”. It begins in Asciano Pisano, passes through the Valle delle Fonti and ends at Bottinello di San Rocco. The arches of the old Acquedotto Mediceo begin there. After crossing the stream, the route follows the aqueduct line along a steep path through holm oaks and pine trees to the “Scarpa d’Orlando” spring. A hiking trail also runs along the brick vault of the old conduit to the Renaissance Cisternone of the Acquedotto Mediceo.

Churches and Smaller Cultural Sites

The religious buildings also bear witness to different eras. The first documented mention of the Pieve di San Giovanni Battista in Asciano dates from 1137. Its façade is clad in finely dressed limestone blocks from the quarries of San Giuliano. The bell tower bears the inscription “1914 Il Popolo”. The first documented evidence of the Oratorio di San Rocco in Asciano comes from pastoral visits recorded between 1622 and 1657. The Oratorio di San Rocco was restored in 1888. A considerably more recent building is the Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Fatima: it was built in 1986 to a design by the architect Gabriele Bonaguidi. The church is a small chapel with a gabled roof and a single-nave interior. For a quieter contrast, there is the Giardino dei Profumi in Asciano. This is a small botanical garden with several particularly important flower species. Together with the churches, the aqueduct and the routes, it creates a visitor experience that does not depend on a single monumental highlight, but combines historical traces with experiences of the landscape. For further orientation, you can also visit the entries for Arena Metato, Gello, Ripafratta, Madonna Dell'acqua and Molina Di Quosa-Rigoli.

To the overview of the wider area: San Giuliano Terme.