Pieve Vecchia: Pieve history, whale fossil and wine around Orciano Pisano

Pieve Vecchia is the current name of the locality formerly known as the Pieve di Scotriano. If you would like to explore the history of the Pieve di Scotriano, the hills of Orciano Pisano, the Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia and the Pisan Hills Wine Trail, the surrounding area offers several specific points of interest. The ancient parish church has been incorporated into a private villa; the Torrente Vallinucci rises at the northern edge of the municipal area in the locality of Pieve Vecchia.

Historical traces of the former Pieve di Scotriano and its subsidiary churches

Pieve Vecchia was historically also known as Pievaccia di Colle Pinzato or Pincioli. The remains of the former Pieve di Scotriano are located at the foot of Colle Pinzuti. By the 15th century, the Pieve di Scotriano had already fallen into disrepair, and the area had become rural. The development from an ecclesiastically oriented settlement into a rural setting is one of the key historical threads of Pieve Vecchia.

The Pieve di Scotriano was dissolved in 1575; its properties were transferred to the seminary of the Primaziale of Pisa. At the former site of Pieve Vecchia di Scotriano, Antonio Chiocchini of Livorno built a villa with an adjoining oratory toward the end of the 18th century. The historic area of the Pieve di S. Giovanni Battista and S. Maria in Scotriano included eight subsidiary churches. The Pieve di S. Giovanni a Scutriano was rebuilt by Antonio Chiocchini in 1767. The former parish church and the later villa with oratory thus represent two historical uses of the same site.

Location of the Pieve on the road from Gragnoli to Orciano, near the Via Emilia

The remains of the former Pieve di Scotriano lie to the right of the road from Gragnoli to Orciano, near the Via Emilia, which is also called Maremmana.

The ten-metre-long fossilized baleen whale skeleton at the Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia

The Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia displays the ten-metre-long fossilized skeleton of a baleen whale that lived three million years ago. The skeleton was found and excavated in 2007 in the hills of Orciano Pisano (PI). The year 2007 refers to the discovery and excavation; the figure of three million years, by contrast, describes when the baleen whale lived.

Chianti DOCG, Bianco Pisano di San Torpè and the Pisan Hills Wine Trail

The Pisan Hills Wine Trail follows the roads around Orciano Pisano and connects businesses as well as local producers of food and wine. Chianti DOCG and Bianco Pisano di San Torpè DOC are among the products made in Orciano Pisano. The trail therefore includes local food and the producers involved, as well as wine.

Poggio Pinzuti: gentle hill, ring of cypress trees and panoramic views

Poggio Pinzuti is nearby, a gentle hill surrounded by a ring of cypress trees. A short detour offers panoramic views.

Casa la Pieve Vecchia, Rubino apartment: renovated country house with one bedroom

Casa la Pieve Vecchia, Rubino apartment is a recently renovated country house that was formerly part of the private La Pieve Vecchia farm. It is offered as an entire accommodation with one bedroom and four sleeping places.

For the overview of the wider destination: Orciano Pisano.