San Godenzo - The town of San Godenzo

San Godenzo

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San Godenzo (ZIP code 50060) is 48,6 kilometers far from Firenze, that is the Chief Town of the homonymous province to whom the municipality belongs.

San Godenzo has a population of 1.188 inhabitants (Sangodenzini) and a surface of 99 square kilometers thus showing a population density of 12,00 inhabitants per square kilometer. It rises 404 metres above the sea level.

The City Hall is located in Piazza Municipio 1, phone ++39 055 - 837381, fax ++39 055 - 8374118: the E-Mail address is info@comune.san-godenzo.fi.it.

Population: The municipality of San Godenzo had a popolation of 1.105 inhabitants accordingly to the results of the national census made in 1991. After the national census made in 2001 the population was 1.188 inhabitants, thus showing during the years 1991 - 2001 a percentual variation of 7,51% inhabitants.

The inhabitants are distributed in 526 families with an average of 2,26 people per family.

The place: The territory of the municipality lies between 237 and 1.658 metres above sea level.

The altimetric spawn is thus of 1.421 metres.

Work and workers:There are 35 industrial firms employing 117 people that are the 36,91% of the total of the workers. There are 18 service firms employing 36 people that are the 11,36% of the total of the workers. There are also 42 firms employing 133 people that are the 41,96% of the total of the workers. There are also 21 administrative offices emplying 31 workers that are the 9,78% of the total of the workers.

There is a total of 317 workers, that are the 26,68% of the inhabitants of the municipality.

San Godenzo rises along the valley of the Godenzo torrent.

The local economy is mainly based on the production of cereals, fodders, chestnuts, on the breding of ovines and bovines and on tourism, also thanks to the presence of numerous and fine qualified hotels.

The place name comes from the name of a close Benedectine abbey, where the relics of Saint Gaudenzio were placed.

The village of San Godenzo developed around a Benedectine abbey built around year 1000 and entitle to Saint Gaudenzio, a hermit who stayed in the locality between the V-th and VI-th century A.C..

Since the beginning the village was under the hegemony of Guidi's Counts, a local powerful feudatory family, who dominated the village up to the middle of the XIV-th century, when they bought San Godenzo.

At that time San Godenzo became first an autonomous common and then a Podestà's seat of the Florentine countryside.

At the same time the Benedectine monks left the abbey and thus this latter started to decline up to the end of the XV-th century, when it was annexed to the domains of the Holiest Our Lady Church in Florence, that there established the Serviti's monastic order.

The village of San Godenzo was first subdued to the jurisdiction of the Medici's Grand Dukes, previously came to the power in Florence, and then it was governed by the Lorena's Dukes.

At the beginning of the XVIII-th century these latter came to the power and started both to restore the whole town and to improve the roads of communications by building an imposing road that, crossing through the territory of San Godenzo, joined the Tuscany to Romagna.

After the short period of the French occupation leaded by Napoleone Bonaparte, who abolished all the monastic orders, the village of San Godenzo entered the Tuscan Grand Dukedom up to the Unity of Italy, occurred on 1861 by the action of the King Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoia.

Among the most important monuments to see in San Godenzo we point out here the Badia Benedettina di San Godenzo (Saint Godenzo Benedectine Abbey), the Chiesa di San Giorgio a Petrognano (Saint George Church in Petrognano), the Chiesa di San Martino (Saint Martin Church) and the Castello dello Specchio (Castle of the Mirror).

Among famous people who were born in San Godenzo we remind here the Renaissance painter Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla (1421-1457), also named "Andrea del Castagno".

Among the numerous celebrations periodically taking place in San Godenzo we point out the traditional "Chestnuts Festival" held yearly on October in the numerous localities belonging to San Godenzo and during which it is possible to taste the fine typical foods based on chestnuts and good local wines.