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History of Dicomano in the Val di Sieve, Tuscany

Dicomano has got very ancient roots: it was already a settled region at the time of the Romans, that made up here a military colony.The very name of the town could come from the so called “Decumanus”, or better, the lay-out that defined the colony itself.

Starting from the High Middle Ages, the village, at the foot of the main passes to the area of Romagna, became one of the most important trade centres. This explains the interest of the Republic of Florence, that expropriated the local feudal landowners and destroyed their castles, because the wheat necessary for the demand of the whole city was actually traded in Dicomano.

The town developed mainly because it was the centre of an important road network, as happened in the 15th century, the most flourishing period for the town when the different markets were able to guarantee a good exchange activity and during the rule of the Lorraine grand duke the opening of the new Forlivese route (1824-1859) brought many benefits to the village.

From 1300 to 1700 Dicomano benefited from the construction of a new river port, that was used also as deposit for the wood necessary for building as well as for the naval shipyards in the area of Pisa and Leghorn. Therefore Dicomano has always represented a good place for barter and human interaction and for this reason the town's population is still open minded, friendly and independent.

There are many episodes in the course of history of the town that can witness this attitude. The most representative example is the insurrection against the french government of resoration in 1799. The town centre, destroyed by the earthquake of 1919 and by the disasters of the world war, has been rebuilt in the following years.

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