A short history of Moggiona

July 2003

The following is a translation of a history of Moggiona that can be found in the village at the start of the footpath towards Lierna.

The story of Moggiona is among the oldest of the Casentino valley; the place name appears to have an Etruscan origin - "Modiona", and could be related to the rural type of territory and to the use of the forests. But it was in the mediaeval period that the area acquired significance by becoming a village with a castle, and therefore a fortified settlement - for guarding the access routes to Camaldoli.

The "Court of Moggiona" is mentioned already in a decree of the King of the Longobardi in Italy: Ugo and Lotorio, dated 14 March 933, confirmed the territory around Moggiona to be in the possession of the Canonical Aretines, to whom it turned out to belong for more than "one hundred years".

In 1073, the village of Moggiona and its surrounding area came under the influence of the Eremo (hermitage) of Camaldoli (founded in the first years of the 11th century); in fact the Canonical Aretines granted tithes of bread, wine and vegetables to this monastic order. At this time the Conti Guidi of Romena had advanced directly into the territory of Moggiona, but in 1098, with an official agreement, they allowed Canonical Aretines to control the area.

In 1107 it seems certain that a castle already existed within the village of Moggiona; in any case there was either a military construction or a complex of large buildings to protect and fortify the whole settlement. Today, no trace of the old fortified structure remains, and it was probably constructed largely from wood and would have collapsed when military operations were abandoned. Consequently, complete change to the construction of the village has occurred, following developments in the course of the centuries. Still today, however, the well-defended layout of the old buildings and the enclosed local centre of the village remain testimony to its old function as a fort.

In 1109 Ugo, Count of Romena, gave the church of Moggiona directly to the Camaldolese monks, and in 1130 an agreement was drawn up between the Prior of Camaldoli and the Council of the Presbytery of St. Donato of Arezzo in which the fortified village of Moggiona was given to the Congregation of Camaldoli in exchange for some other property. This transfer reinforced the village's role as a fort and transformed it into a lay annex of the monastery, helping to control the area.

In 1146, the Count of Romena ratified the handover of Moggiona, on the condition that the people of Camaldoli would have to pay "40 Luccan coins" to the counts of Romena every December, an agreement that the monks still honoured even in the 14th century. In 1173, the military garrison, together with the court and all the other interests that the Canonical Aretines had in these places, were handed over definitively to the control of the Congregation of the Camaldolese Monks, in exchange for other assets.

Historically, Moggiona was also famous for the decrees issued by the people of Camaldoli after 1130 concerning the administration and government of the territory; even today it is an important document for finding out about what life was like in a mountain village during the 13th and 14th centuries; the first decree relating to the castle of Moggiona dates back to 1269.

The fortunes of the Florentine Republic brought it also to this area, and following a territorial expansion that took in the whole of the Casentino valley, in 1382 the Camaldolese monks and the people of Moggiona voluntarily handed themselves over to the rule of Florence. On that occasion, there were new orders and decrees about the organisation of the territory. In this new situation, after the expulsion of the Conti Guidi from the Casentino, in 1440 the Prior of Camaldoli assumed the title of Count of Moggiona. It was this same Prior who, in 1480, ordered the demolition of the church of St John and St Christopher, and its reconstruction in a more suitable location, as the previous structure was threatened with ruin. In 1537 the new church was almost complete, and in the same year work started on the font, which for many years became a centre-point for this whole mountain region.

The county of Moggiona (as it was originally known through its ancient feudal origins) was dissolved in 1776 by a decree of Leopoldo, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who assigned Moggiona to the growing Comunità di Poppi. For a long time the village of Moggiona was known as the "village of the bigoni-makers". In fact for generations the people were dedicated to making these "bigoni", a type of barrel that consisted of wooden containers held together by metal rings. The primary material for the construction of the bigoni came from the fir-wood of the Camaldoli forest. The bigoni of Moggiona were famous throughout Tuscany, and were sold to hundreds of small farms. They were used at the time of the grape harvest for carrying grapes from the vines.

With the advent of modern materials and technology, this trade disappeared, but there has remained a strong tradition of woodcraft in the village.