In the Valdicecina, the hills are scattered with medieval villages, military strongholds, parish churches, abbeys and other settlements born to exploit the underground resources that resulted in the reconciliation of the inhabitants with nature. Our territory has never been easy to tame, the safe and suitable places to settle were but few in the past.
The urban centres are on elevated positions, hilltops or rock spurs.

This choice would seem to tie in well with the culture of a historical period, the Middle Ages, when urban settlements were built on top of hills and overlooking the valleys. In actual fact even the Etruscans and the Romans, noblemen, middle-classes and peasants made the same choice.

Towns built on top of a hill are the norm and characteristic of the Valdicecina. The settlements were built on lower hills while the most important urban settlements were established on strategic sites.

Pomarance
The Pomarance area had been inhabited from Prehistory, in particular from the Neolithic period when, besides stone, bronze began to be forged.
In the neigbourhood of Pomarance, a number of tombs from the third millennium BC have been discovered, inside which bronze objects were found.
The area was also inhabited in the Etruscan period, as archaeological finds confirm. A funerary stele from the 4th century BC and a tomb, found under the church of San Giovanni Battista in Pomarance. Unfortunately the tomb had already been sacked.
The first records date back to the 10th century when the Castle of Pomarance, already Ripomarance, was offered by Otto I to Engheramo Inghirami as a gift. After 1000, and for three centuries, Pomarance had been in a territorial dispute between the Commune and the Bishops of Volterra. Later the Castle was overcome by the Commune of Volterra, fact that the inhabitants of Pomarance did not accept so much so that in 1247 the main local opponents were beheaded by Battista Arnolfi, Podestà of Volterra.
In the 15th century, Pomarance saw two invasions: the first in 1431 by the Lombard troops headed by Niccolò Piccinino, the second by the troops headed by Alfonso of Aragon in 1447. Involved in the war between Florence and Volterra in 1472, Pomarance partook in the vicissitudes of the Commune up until when they became part of the Medici State.

Castelnuovo Val di Cecina
In the 9th-8th and 7th century BC, this area was inhabited by people from the Villanovian civilization, and already in the 7th century BC there could well have been important Etruscan settlements like Velathri (Volterra), linked to the exploitation of the quarries and the forging of metals. Until the 3rd century BC, it was a flourishing area but it was overcome by Rome after the battle on the Cecina river (298 BC) and supplied Scipio the African resin and tar for ships. It sided with Gaius Marius against Sulla and at the demise of the Roman Empire there were ferocious battles between the Goths and the Byzantines (535-553AD). In the first centuries of the 1000s it was controlled by the Lombards, until they were overthrown by the Commune of Volterra in 1210. In the same century, Castelnuovo, grew rapidly and become one of the most important urban settlements in the Volterra area (contado) and in consequence one of the most heavily taxed. It was a territorial dispute between Volterra and Florence due to its alum and sulphur mines and when in 1429 the war between Florence and Volterra broke out, Castelnuovo sided with the Florentines.
In 1447, as other Communes in the Volterra area, it was invaded by Alfonso of Aragon and when he withdrew it was occupied by the Senese Petrucci who were ousted by Volterra with the help of the Florentines. Volterra was interested in the alum, for which a certain Paolo Inghirami gained the right of exploitation, (together with sulphur and vitriolic) in 1470. Thanks to these natural resources, Castelnuovo gained special privileges such as the election of its own Podestà. These special privileges were confirmed by Alessandro de’ Medici (1533). In 1639, Castelnuovo became a feudal property of the Grand Duchy ruled by Ferdinand II and was given to Luca degli Albizi and his heirs as a marquisate. This feudal property was abolished at the end of 1700 by Francis II Duke of Lorraine.

Montecatini Val di Cecina
The first reference to Montecatini comes from the 11th century when it is recorded that Bishop Pietro of Volterra authorized the church of San Giusto and San Clemente to collect taxes in Montecatini.
It was part of the contado of Volterra, as is recorded in 1225 when the Bishop of Volterra agreed to give half of the amount of some taxes from the contado to the Commune of Volterra.
A further reference comes from the middle of the 14th century, when Montacatini was the property of the Belforti family, who had already siezed Volterra.
In 1361, after an insurrection against the Belforti family by the population of Volterra, Florence came to help Volterra and give them Montecatini, which partook in Volterra’s vicissitudes up until 1472, when Volterra was included in the Florentine Republic.

Monteverdi Marittimo
The plain of the Cornia river which the Municipality of Monteverdi overlooks what was a Roman province, Iulia Ossequiosa. Near to the urban area, a number of remains have been found bearing witness to roads and buildings of the Ancient Roman period. As to the villages of Canneto and Monteverdi, worthy of mention is the Benedictine monastery of San Pietro in Palazzolo, founded by Walfred, a Lombard nobleman. It is probable that he had been the forefather of the della Gherardesca family.
The first known settlement dates to 754 in the Badiavecchia area, just outside today’s village. Still visible are the walls, the tombs of some monks and a long corridor, coins and friezes are of Lombard origin. This monastery withstood the continuous invasions for 3 hundred years, up until it was transferred in 1100 on top of a hill visible from the village of Monteverdi Marittimo.