Various Categories

Born in Castelfiorentino in 1182.
Born into the fallen noble family of Attavanti, as a young girl she was kept as an administrator by a wealthy relative. She later went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. In 1221 Francis of Assisi admitted her to the Third Franciscan Order. She dedicated herself to penance and solitude. Some of the faithful of Castelfiorentino, in order not to let her leave the village, built her a cell on the bank of the Elsa river near an oratory. Verdiana remained in her cell, with two snakes, for 34 years. From a small window she attended Mass and received food. In 1533 Pope Clement VII approved her cult. Her liturgical feast is celebrated on February 1st and her relics are still kept in the Sanctuary of Santa Verdiana in Castelfiorentino.

He was born in Castelfiorentino in 1859.
He completed his first studies at the Technical Institute of Spoleto under the supervision of his father; he finished these studies in Padua where he graduated in Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and then in Civil Engineering. At the age of 21 he obtained the diploma of civil engineer and was called by Prof. Keller at the Orto Agrario of Padova. In 1884, at the age of 25, for his cereal dryer he was awarded the silver medal at the Agrarian competition of Forli and the gold medal by the Agrarian Committee of Padua. He was also professor of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Pisa. In addition to numerous scientific publications, he left a rich narrative production in the vernacular.
In Castelfiorentino he was able to give impulse to the birth and development of various institutions. He was a councillor and municipal administrator, collaborator and promoter of the Historical Society of Valdelsa and of its magazine, founder of the Cassa Rurale and of the mutual aid society of Cambiano.

Born in Castelfiorentino in 1744, he became factor of Meleto and “putative father” of the young Cosimo Ridolfi. Testaferrata was responsible for some important works of hydraulic regulation known as “colmate di monte”, a method of cultivation that he had taken from Abbot Landeschi of San Miniato. Complementary to it was the arrangement “a spina”, which consisted of a tracing of a system of ditches with a transversal rectilinear course, so as to follow the slope of the hill, discharging the water from one ditch to another through short connections. The land where he carried out these interventions was later renamed “Podere Testaferrata” by Cosimo Ridolfi. He died in 1822.

According to the legend, Membrino is a boy hero (10-12 years old) who lived in the 16th century and saved Castelfiorentino from destruction. The legend says that in that period Ferrucci was heading towards Volterra, and that passing through Castelfiorentino (through the Via Francigena) he found the entrance doors of the town completely barred, interpreting this act as loyalty to the Medici and hostility towards him. Enraged, Ferrucci ordered the artillery to be deployed and prepared for the attack. The population of Castelfiorentino, who had closed their doors out of fear and certainly not out of hostility, no longer knew how to get out of that bad situation. At that moment Membrino entered the scene: after having reproached his fellow citizens for their behavior, he asked to be allowed to leave the walls and to go and speak to Ferrucci. Satisfied, he went towards the Captain. The latter, surprised by the courage of Membrino, listened to his reasons. Membrino then explained that the castellans had closed the doors of the Commune out of fear, not certainly out of aversion. Fascinated by the courage of this young boy, Ferrucci therefore renounced his intention of destroying Castelfiorentino, and rewarded Membrino by recruiting him into his army as a drummer.
In memory of Membrino, the people of Castelfiorentino made a wooden fantaccino in uniform, and placed it as a symbol of the community on the bell tower of the Town Hall, where it can still be seen today.

He was born in Ronta, a hamlet of Borgo San Lorenzo (FI), in 1924. In 1960 he was appointed provost of Castelfiorentino, thus giving life in the archdiocese to the first experiment in community pastoral management: the first parish pastoral council that dealt not only with specific pastoral problems, but also with administrative ones. In 1979, Cardinal Giovanni Benelli, Archbishop of Florence, called him to the Archdiocesan Curia, entrusting him with the task of pro-vicar and then vicar general. In 1982 he was appointed auxiliary bishop. He received episcopal ordination on June 24, 1982 from Cardinal Giovanni Benelli. Cardinal Benelli’s sudden death in the fall of 1982 led him to assume the pastoral governance of the archdiocese as apostolic administrator. On March 18, 1983, he was elected archbishop of Florence. From 1985 to 2001 he was president of CET (Tuscan Episcopal Conference); from 1990 to 1995 he was vice-president of CEI (Italian Episcopal Conference). In 2004 he became cardinal.
The recent Park of the Parish Church of Saints Ippolito and Biagio in Castelfiorentino was named after him.

Born in Castelfiorentino in 1855.
Known as “Il Canonico”, he was an important figure in the Valdelsano territory and not only. He published thoughts, volumes, pamphlets and a series of studies of historical interest. He attended the archiepiscopal seminary of Cestello in Florence, became a priest in 1879 and celebrated his first Mass at the sanctuary of Santa Verdiana. He settled in Castelfiorentino in 1881 and was elected honorary canon theologian of the Collegiate Church. He was among the founders and secretary of the Historical Society of Valdelsa, to which he left all his books after his death. He also worked to decorate the temple of Santa Verdiana with works of art. He was chancellor of the Archconfraternity of the Misericordia and reorganized the archives. He worked for the restoration of the church and the works of San Francesco. He also held the positions of secretary and first librarian of the Vallesiana Library, secretary of the School Patronage, organizer of the municipal archives of Castelfiorentino and Certaldo and of the diocese of Florence. He moved to Florence in 1908 where he became first archivist of the Curia, then Chancellor of the same and finally, in 1914, Vicar General and Canon of the Metropolitan. He was awarded an honorary degree in theology.

He was born on May 17, 1879 to Angelo and Gori Altomira. Orphaned at the age of ten, in 1893 he completed with honors the studies of the gymnasium under the discipline of Father Lorenzo Ghilardi, after which he was accepted into the order of Friars Minor and sent to do the canonical apprenticeship in the convent of St. Cerbone (Lucca). He completed his theological studies in the convent of the Observance near Siena and was ordained a priest on November 22, 1901. Because of his aptitude for teaching, his superiors assigned him to the college of Giaccherino near Pistoia, maturing in the same period his aspiration to the missions. In 1903, he left for the Franciscan college of Tarija in Bolivia, where he quickly gained wide sympathy. Back in Tuscany, Pope Benedict XV elevated him to the dignity of Bishop in 1919 and Apostolic Vicar of the Great Ciacco in South America with a decree of the same year. In Bolivia, Ippolito Ulivelli worked with a missionary spirit not only for the spiritual welfare but also for the civil and economic improvement of the people. He died in 1922, at only 43 years of age.
A memorial stone commemorates him in Piazza Cavour and a square in front of the Church of San Francesco has been dedicated to his memory.

Born in Castelfiorentino in 1406.
He was the natural son of Muzio Attendolo Sforza and Lucia Terzani, and brother of Alessandro and Francesco, both captains of fortune.
In 1415 he was captured and imprisoned in the Castel Nuovo of Naples together with his father and brothers. Leone fought mainly alongside Francesco, and in 1432 he escorted Emperor Sigismondo to Piacenza. In 1434 he fought against Niccolò Fortebraccio in Lazio and Umbria but he was imprisoned and then realesed after the deathof his leader in 1435.
It was killed during the siege of Caravaggio of 1440, while it was at the command of the army of the Serenissima.

Born in Castelfiorentino in 1956.
Journalist and writer, he made his debut at the age of only sixteen with a pamphlet (written together with Leonardo Gori) entitled “Dateci una mano a salvare Castelfiorentino” (Give us a hand to save Castelfiorentino), an appeal for the preservation of its historical and artistic heritage. As a journalist, he was editor-in-chief of “Il Giornale” and director of “La Nazione”. He later became a columnist for the daily newspaper “La Verità”. He published “La preghiera spezzata. I cattolici fiorentini nella seconda metà del ‘900” (with Giovanni Pallanti, 2010); “Firenze, firme d’onore” (2015), the book on sports politics “La Fiorentina è molto più che una bistecca” (with Mario Lancisi, 2016), and “Il parroco cardinale. Life of Silvano Piovanelli” (with Giovanni Pallanti, 2016). In 2018 he published the new book written with Lancisi “Ci sono storie che…” in memory of Davide Astori.

Born in Castelfiorentino in 1973.
After attending high school at the Liceo Scientifico “Il Pontormo” in Empoli, she enrolled in the Faculty of Letters (University of Siena). After graduating, she won a PhD at the University of Los Angeles and, a few years later, she obtained her first teaching position in a University. In 2011, she became an associate professor and, since 2016, she has been a full professor of Italian Studies at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, where she also coordinates an interdisciplinary program in gender and women’s studies, a group of about 40 faculty members that welcomes about 2000 students each academic year.

Born in Castelfiorentino in 1982.
He was the only European to be Director of a Focus Group linked to NASA, which dealt with astrobiology and in particular studies on the origin of life on Earth and habitability on other planets.
Eugenio, descendant of a dynasty of bicycle frame manufacturers, then carried on the family business “Simoncini Telai”, producing frames under his own name or for more renowned brands.
A few years ago, the “Simoncini Bike Frame Museum” was inaugurated in the old historical center of Castelfiorentino.

Born in Castelfiorentino in 1973.
After completing her secondary schooling, she attended the “Federigo Enriques” High School in Castelfiorentino and later enrolled in the Faculty of Biology at the University of Siena. At the end of her studies, she prepares a thesis at the laboratory of the Research Center of Chiron (later Novartis and GSK), which launches her into the world of research. She wins a PhD at the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and, after a brief experience at the laboratory of the WHO Cancer Institute in Lyon (France), she makes her first important discovery on cancer in 2008 in Switzerland, at the Federal University of Lausanne, which earned her a prestigious award and publication in “Nature”. Since 2011, she has directed a research laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute in London.