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Category Archives: Local History
Pro Loco Grezzano: ‘In Favor of the Place’ I Call Home
If you follow this blog at all, you’ll have no doubt noticed that I’m rather fond of the sleepy Tuscan village I call home. Not unlike countless small towns throughout Italy, beneath Grezzano’s homespun appearance lies centuries of historical intrigue, legend … Continue reading
Borgo San Lorenzo: A Wartime Snapshot
Borgo San Lorenzo was liberated on September 11, 1944. Days later, Allies would break through the Gothic Line in a series of crucial battles fought in the mountains to the north. This photograph shows locals returning to Borgo with their belongings after … Continue reading
Jülich: Past and Present (and Future?)
This brief post has little to do with the topics I usually write about, save the WWII connection. Yet who can resist any historical tidbit related to one’s personal ancestry? All American Gulicks have a common ancestor, Hendrick Van Gulick—born in … Continue reading
The Passo dell’Osteria Bruciata, or ‘Burnt Inn’ Pass: A Macabre Mugello Legend
In the late Middle Ages, the principal road between Florence and Bologna crossed a stretch of Apennine mountain ridge that also connects the Mugello towns of Scarperia and Firenzuola. This strategic route, known today as the Passo dell’Osteria Bruciata, or … Continue reading
Posted in Curiosità, Local History
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Villa Striano: A Mugello Landmark
As the crow flies, Villa Striano is about five minutes east of Grezzano, set back into the ridge of Apennine foothills that skirt the northern and eastern sides of the Mugello valley. It is the site of one of the … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
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In Memoriam – Marco Buzzichelli
Today is a sad anniversary here in Grezzano. Two years ago, on May 17, 2012, Marco Buzzichelli was killed in our piazza while attempting to stop a runaway bus carrying 23 first- and second-grade children who had been attending a … Continue reading
Remembering Grezzano, 1943-1944
Edoardo Braschi’s Lavoravo alla Todt: La Costruzione della Linea Gotica nel Mugello (‘I worked for Todt: The Construction of the Gothic Line in the Mugello’) outlines the history of the Todt organization, the German military engineering group sometimes referred to as the construction … Continue reading
Backyard Musings: September 13-17, 1944
Sixty-eight years ago, a battle was taking place in the hills surrounding my town. Allied forces, having liberated Florence and much of Tuscany in the months prior, were closing in on the Gothic Line–the last defensive line in the Italian Campaign of … Continue reading
Posted in Local History, World War II in Italy
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Old Country Idyll: A Day in Grezzano
Grezzano is an old place. Not as old as some Italian villages, those claiming Roman or Etruscan foundations for instance, but getting up there in centuries. Our parish church dates to 1086 (that’s not a typo), and the Guidi Counts … Continue reading
July 17, 1944: Reconsidering History in Crespino del Lamone
Inspired by a visit to Crespino del Lamone on April 3, 2011. On the surface, there’s nothing special about Crespino del Lamone. With its grey and crumbling facades, nondescript church, and geranium- and gelateria-free piazza, this tiny town tucked away … Continue reading
Posted in Local History, World War II in Italy
Tagged Crespino del Lamone, Italian Resistance, Partigiani, World War II
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Platform 17 