| 
Inhabitants in 1991: 1.475
 The
territory extends for 72.50 square kilometres on the top and slopes of
a hillock to include part of the plain land, at the influx of the river
Sterza with the river Era. In 1869 there were aggregated the districts
of Orciatico and Spedaletto detached from the municipalities of Volterra
and Montecatini Val di Cecina. It is a municipality with Leopoldina
origins.
There was no sure news about Lajatico (in olden times called Ajatico),
apart from some archaeological finds which testify to the presence of
an Etruscan settlement, until the XII century, when it was the castle
of the Counts Pannocchieschi d’Elci. Throughout the centuries
they alienated various parts of their possession in favour of the Volterra
Bishops, until, in 1186 the Count Ildebrando Lord and Bishop
of Volterra, obtained the political jurisdiction from Enrico VI
“King of the Romans”. Nevertheless, the possession of the
castle was always an object of contestation with the Pisani who, dominating
the surrounding area, refused to give up the privileges given to them
in 1193 by the same Enrico VI when he became Emperor, and renewed later
by Ottone IV in 1209 and Carlo IV in 1355. It passed temporarily under
the control of Firenze between 1285 and 1293, and again in 1363, Lajatico
became a stable part of the Fiorentino dominion in 1405, shortly before
the conquest by Pisa. Conceded in 1644 by Ferdinando II in feudal with
the title of Marquisate, to the noble Fiorentino Bartolommeo Corsini,
it returned under the jurisdiction of the Grand Duchy in 1749 and was
transformed in autonomous municipality in 1776. From then it followed
the course of the Grand Duchy until the Unity of Italy.
Historical info reproduced upon authorization of Regione Toscana - Dipartimento della Presidenza E Affari Legislativi e Giuridici
Translated by Ann Mountford |
