Fauglia (Pisa), ancient church of San Lorenzo, symbol of the community, restored

In Fauglia (Pisa), one of the most important monuments in the area, the church complex of San Lorenzo Martire, a symbol of the Fauglia community, has been restored. The church underwent redevelopment and restoration thanks to two grants from Gal Etruria, for a total amount of work of about 290 thousand euros, 70 thousand of which were municipal resources.

The historic site on which the church stands constitutes the primitive high ground on which stood the ancient castle of “Faulla” with the village around it, surrounded by walls. The walls were later demolished in the first half of the 15th century as a result of Florentine domination, and then the primitive church of San Lorenzo Martire was built on the ruins of the circle of walls. The church was then abandoned in 1848 due to the damage caused by the earthquake of that year, and only after World War I was the facade rebuilt, while the driveway was provided with a Monument to the Fallen (still present) and named in their memory, taking the name Viale della Rimembranza, the cypress trees at the edges of the driveway stand in remembrance of the Faugliese who fell for their country.

The unveiling ceremony of the upgraded church was attended by Mayor Alberto Lenzi, local and provincial authorities, President of Tuscany Eugenio Giani, alderman Alessandra Nardini, and regional councilor Andrea Pieroni. The Province of Pisa was present with its own banner. Also present were the mayors of neighboring municipalities, Collesalvetti and Crespina Lorenzana.

“Our goal,” said Mayor Lenzi, “was to give back to the Faugliese community a space that has a strong link with the history and roots of this territory so that it can be experienced again by citizens and tourists by going to enrich the offer of public places intended to host cultural events, musical meetings, ceremonies and more. The intervention, divided into three phases, was strongly desired by this and the previous administration represented by former mayor Carlo Carli and current councillor for Public Works, who followed the work on time.”

“It was a long and arduous path,” explained Councillor Carli, “especially for the aspect of finding resources, however, thanks to the collaboration with the Arrighini design studio we managed to obtain from Gal Etruria, a public-private consortium, non-repayable funding for about 220 thousand euros, to which the municipality added 70 thousand euros of its own resources, this allowed us to restore the bell tower and the entire redevelopment of the area that now houses us. We therefore thank all those who contributed to the realization of the work starting with the direction and coordination of the work by architect Sergio Trafeli of our municipal technical office, to the firms that carried out the project, architect Ivan Mencacci and architect Gianluigi Arrighini of the technical firm of the same name, engineer Leonardo Mattolini, the Superintendence of Pisa and all those present at this ceremony. We hope that we will be able to find more funds for the recovery of the premises of the former rectory and thus complete the restoration of the entire monumental complex.”

The president of the region, Eugenio Giani, stressed the value of the intervention carried out by the municipal administration, which has made it possible to return to the community an identity symbol of its history and origins. “Today Fauglia is celebrating and with her,” Giani said, “the whole of Tuscany celebrates.”

Pictured is the restored church. Photo by Alessandra Nardini

Fauglia (Pisa), ancient church of San Lorenzo, symbol of the community, restored

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