There are traces of human presence in Collesalvetti dating back to prehistoric times, although the town and the nearby hamlets certainly have Etruscan-Roman origins. Suffice it to say that one of the most important communication routes in ancient history, the Aemilia Scauri, passes through this area.
In the Middle Ages the area was in an unhealthy condition, due to the marshland that almost entirely covered it. Following a plague epidemic, the area was totally depopulated and the inhabitants were forced to flee to the hills, giving rise to the small villages that still exist today. When the Medici introduced a general plan to encourage the repopulation of the countryside, the development of this territory, dedicated to cultivation, began. It was only after careful control of the watercourses that the Medici, and later the Lorraine, were able to assign these lands to agricultural use and repopulate the plains. In the 19th century, with the French occupation, the community of Colle was assigned a large territory, which incorporated in Collesalvetti the localities of Castell’Anselmo, Colognole, Nugola, Guasticce, Vicarello and Parrana (San Giusto and San Martino).
The toponym is found for the first time in 1272 as “Collis Salvecti” (hill of Salvetto) in a land sale contract, drawn up by a “notaro Salvetto, son of Borgo, in Villa di Colle”. With the victory of Florence, Colle became a Medicean villa, a hunting residence and the driving force behind the Fattoria Granducale – first Medicean, then Lorraine – which at the height of its expansion included over twenty farms.
Collesalvetti’s backdrop is the gentle contours of the Livorno Hills and Mediterranean vegetation whose scents tell us of its proximity to the sea.
Collesalvetti’s landscapes are the very essence of Tuscany, with cypresses that seem to chase each other through the greenery and fields of wheat that, in summer, seem to take in all the glory of the sun.
Yet, at the same time, we are before a unique landscape, which stands out with its precious natural resources and man-made features.
