42-524: Montecatini Terme (Montecatini-Terme, according to ISTAT documentation) is an Italian comune (municipality) of c. 20,000 inhabitants in the province of Pistoia , in the Italian region of Tuscany . It is the most important center in Valdinievole . The town is located at the eastern end of Piana di Lucca and has a strong tourism industry, as well as industrial and commercial industries related to
84-521: A contribution to the restoration of the buildings belonging to the Baths. Because of its location, Montecatini was often a battlefield. In fact, in 1554, it was the center of the clash between the emperor Charles V, allied with Cosimo I, and the Sienese and French militias which, under the command of Pietro Strozzi , were stationed in the castle of Montecatini. As a result, Cosimo had the castle dismantled. In 1529,
126-516: A far more progressive government than his predecessors. He was also an innovator in the management of the economy, public administration, health and science. He went several times to Montecatini to understand first-hand the problems of the Valdinievole and as a result the story of the baths began with the Grand Duke Leopold of Tuscany. He had the territory inspected by scholars and tried to make
168-446: A hotel at Montecatini. Giuseppe Verdi also lived for over 10 years in the city, benefiting from the local thermal center. Italian National Institute of Statistics The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( Italian : Istituto nazionale di statistica ; Istat ) is the primary source of official statistics in Italy . The institute conducts a variety of activities, including
210-555: Is blue and mounted on six small Italian hills, supporting two gold lions surrounded by an oval silver shield laden with a red lily, facing each other and holding a red basin; in the second version everything is handled in silver and blue. The motto, also present in the coat of arms and in the banner states: «Salus» (Latin: Health). There are 11 thermal springs in the area around Montecatini Terme, with temperatures ranging from 24 to 33.4 degrees C. Of those, six have been used for their supposed therapeutic qualities. These springs all come from
252-566: Is very old. Probably from Paleolithic times the region was frequented by itinerant hunters, but only from the Mesolithic period is there evidence of numerous settlements, especially in the hills of the Valdievole. Records of the thermal springs in the region date at least as far back as the Romans. Montecatini Castello, today's Montecatini Alto, was documented by medieval times. In the settlement there
294-513: The Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence. The painter Giuseppe Moricci attended the ceremony and depicted Francesco with a facial droop, a right claw hand appearance, the right shoulder internally rotated, the right calf muscle wasted and a right clubfoot confirmed by orthopaedic footwear within the coffin. These are the signs of a right-sided stroke possibly within the internal capsule . The presence of
336-679: The Studiolo in the Palazzo Vecchio , which held his collections of natural items and stones and allowed him to dabble in chemistry and alchemical schemes. Francesco and Bianca died on 19 and 20 October, both at the Medici Villa in Poggio a Caiano . Although the original death certificates mention malaria, it has been widely speculated that the couple was poisoned, possibly by Francesco's brother Ferdinando . While some early forensic research supported
378-524: The census of population, economic censuses, and numerous social, economic, and environmental surveys and analyses. Istat is the largest producer of statistical information in Italy and is actively involved in the European Statistical System, which is overseen by Eurostat . The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( Istat ) was established by Legislative decree no. 1162 on 9 July, 1926, as
420-457: The spa , which in turn has increased the interest in hotel accommodation in the region. In 2021, the town became part of the transnational " Great Spa Towns of Europe " UNESCO World Heritage Site , because of its famous mineral springs and its architecture exemplifying the popularity of spa resorts in Europe during the 18th through 20th centuries. The presence of humans in the area of Montecatini
462-604: The Central Institute of Statistics ( Istituto centrale di statistica ) in order to replace the General Statistics Division of the Ministry of Agriculture . Corrado Gini was established as the first director of the institute, under the authority of the head of state . The institute, with a staff of about 170 workers, was charged with publishing the data of the 6th general population census, generated by updating
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#1732855805057504-501: The Medici profited from renting farms and fishing. As a result, there were lawsuits to defend the residents of the area and to enable them to pay for the reclamation of the padule with the money they recovered. Francesco I of Lorraine and Maria Teresa of Austria went to Florence in 1739 and stayed there for three months. They then entrusted the government to a Council of Regency that operated until 1765. The Regency tried to resolve promptly
546-824: The National Statistics System ( Sistema statistico nazionale, Sistan ) and changed the name of the institution to the National Institute of Statistics ( Istituto nazionale di statistica ), without changing its acronym, which remained Istat. Institute publications are released under a Creative Commons "Attribution" (CC BY) license. The administration of the institute is as follows: Central Institute of Statistics ( Istituto Centrale di Statistica ) (until 1989) : National Institute of Statistics ( Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ) (since 1989) : Istat has 18 regional offices, called Centri di informazione statistica (Statistical Information Centers), where
588-730: The Risorgimento and the end of the Grand Duchy occurred in 1859. In 1860 Montecatini came under the Province of Lucca with its headquarters in Montecatini Alto. In 1889, thanks to an international medical congress in Florence, the city commenced activity in the field of thermal medicine. In the same year, the urban project proposed and initiated by Pietro Leopoldo was extended and improved. On 16 June 1905 Montecatini Alto and Bagni di Montecatini became autonomous municipal entities. On 28 October 1928
630-506: The Valdinievole was conquered by the Florentine armies led by the Medici in Florence, but this did not bring rapid benefits to the Baths and the City of Montecatini. Cosimo Medici was the first person to build a bridge-dam to cross the muddy waters of the area. The initiative brought great economic improvements, but it was detrimental to the inhabitants of the Valdinievole. In 1447, Florence approved
672-463: The baths remained open all year, but from that moment on there has been a slow decline until today, when the fashion for visiting the spa has clearly diminished. Efforts to relaunch the baths began in the 1990s and the City succeeded in doing this in 2000. The emblem of the municipality is regulated by the Royal Decree of 12 August 1908. It is a truncated shield: the first version is of Montecatini which
714-484: The death of Francesco's legitimate son Filippo in 1582, Antonio was proclaimed heir. Francesco also adopted Bianca's daughter by her first marriage, Pellegrina (1564–?). Like his father, Francesco was often despotic, but while Cosimo had known how to maintain Florentine independence, Francesco acted more like a vassal of the Habsburgs of Austria and Spain. He continued the heavy taxation of his subjects to pay large sums to
756-569: The emperor. Francesco had an avid interest in manufacturing and sciences. He founded porcelain and stoneware manufacture, but these did not thrive until after his death. He continued his father's patronage of the arts, supporting artists and building the Medici Theater as well as founding the Accademia della Crusca . Francesco was also passionately interested in chemistry and alchemy and spent many hours in his private laboratory and curio collection,
798-506: The establishments to see how the funds given by the State for their restoration had been spent and entrusted their administration to Schweiger. In 1958 the State reappropriated the baths, symbolizing a second phase with the reconstruction of the Redi and Excelsior baths. Montecatini in those years was frequented by important persons; nobility and people from the worlds of entertainment and politics. In 1970
840-571: The figures from previous censuses carried out by the General Statistics Division up until 1921. After ramping up activities in the early 1930s, national statistics operations in Italy suffered serious setbacks due to economic sanctions imposed as a result of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War , which essentially halted any publication of economic or financial data. The figures that had been already collected but not reported during this period were eventually published in 1937, although this activity
882-477: The institute. Accessing and downloading of data and information is free and available through dati.istat.it , seriestoriche.istat.it , and other web interfaces. 41°53′57″N 12°29′45″E / 41.8992106°N 12.4958753°E / 41.8992106; 12.4958753 Francesco I de%27 Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco I (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587) was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany , ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He
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#1732855805057924-486: The just and reasonable decisions for it. The Grand Duke went to Montecatini in 1772 and ordered the demolition of the locks and the weirs of Ponte a Cappiano. The channeling of the thermo-mineral waters and the restoration of the city began. Pietro Leopoldo returned many times, even with his family, to Montecatini to check the state of the works. On 1 March 1790 he left Florence to return for Vienna to succeed his brother Josef who had died. The third Habsburg-Lorraine Grand Duke
966-454: The late 1940s, the archives were recovered and transferred back to Rome, allowing the institute to fully resume its activities. With post-war reconstruction underway, the institute mainly focused on collecting new data concerning national development that eventually lead to the publication of the volume " Studi sul reddito nazionale" (Studies on National Revenue) in 1950. Legislative decree no. 322, published on 6 September, 1989, established
1008-433: The latter theory, forensic evidence from a study in 2010 found the parasite Plasmodium falciparum , which causes malaria , in the skeletal remains of Francesco I, which strongly bolstered the infection theory and the credibility of the official documents. Francesco was succeeded by his younger brother Ferdinando. In 1857, all members of the Medici family were exhumed and reburied in the place where they still lie today,
1050-581: The name of the Bagni di Montecatini was changed to Montecatini Terme. In 1928 the municipality of Montecatini, together with all the other municipalities of the Valdinievole, passed from the province of Lucca to the newly formed province of Pistoia . Between 1904 and 1915 the Torretta and Excelsior establishments were born. Giovannozzi restored the Leopoldine and Tettuccio baths between 1919 and 1928. Mussolini also went to
1092-548: The orthopaedic footwear suggests that this stroke happened significantly before his death. During life, in his official portraits, the grand duke was always depicted as being in perfect physical condition. The cause of his stroke is not known, but malaria is known to cause this condition. There is a famous portrait of Francesco as a child by Bronzino that hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence . Francesco's marriage to Bianca and
1134-401: The owner of the Baths of Montecatini had financial problems so he offered them to Cosimo, who would become Duke in 1532, and Grand Duke, thanks to his nomination by Pope Pius V , in 1569. Since the consort of Cosimo, Eleonora of Toledo , made frequent use of the waters of Montecatini, the Medici had the baths analyzed by their agents. However, the proposal did not go through. In 1538, the offer
1176-408: The problem of reclaiming the marshes, but the whole thing was more difficult than expected. In those years, epidemics, fevers and famines again appeared. To solve the problem it was necessary to settle the land near the padule by channeling the springs that were stagnating in the Valdinievole and invigorating the agriculture and livestock. In 1765, with the death of Francesco, Pietro Leopoldo assumed
1218-733: The public can access statistical information. The center in Rome also offers data from Eurostat . The library, established in 1926, is open to the public and contains Istat publications, national and international works on statistics and socioeconomics , and journals from other national statistical institutes and international organizations (e.g. Food and Agriculture Organization , International Monetary Fund , OECD , United Nations ). The library collection includes 400,000 volumes and receives about 2800 periodical journals. There are also 1500 volumes published prior to 1900. Istat provides databases and web interfaces for browsing and downloading data produced by
1260-528: The quick remarriage and similar occurrences among the Medici (Francesco's younger brother Pietro had reportedly killed his wife), rumours spread that Francesco and Bianca had conspired to poison Joanna. Francesco reportedly built and decorated the Villa di Pratolino for Bianca. She was, however, not always popular among Florentines. They had no legitimate children, but Bianca had borne him a son, Antonio (29 August 1576 – 2 May 1621), in his first wife's lifetime. Following
1302-463: The same source: an aquifer fed by meteoric waters roughly 60–80 meters below ground level. These waters get their minerals from being in contact with Triassic-period strata of calcareous stone, travertine, jasper and limestone. Montecatini-Terme is home to ten separate thermal water springs. The water from each spring is accessible from a series of buildings and estates that bear the name of the spring they house. These are: Christian Dior died in
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1344-453: The surrounding hills, because the town was the scene of continuous clashes. We must also remember that Montecatini was mainly constituted of padule (marshes). Livy confirms this when he described how Hannibal of Carthage passed by the padule of Fucecchio in his march to the south. From the 10th century until 1270 with the Republic of Lucca, attempts were made to reclaim the territory, which
1386-512: The time, including Giuseppe Giusti's father. With this new administration of the baths there were innovations and improvements. When Ferdinando III died, he was succeeded by Leopold II who is remembered for the reclamation work in the Maremma and for the construction of railways and roads. Leopold II also collaborated in the construction of the Locanda Maggiore. The Lorraine period concluded with
1428-508: The title of Grand Duke, as his mother, Maria Teresa of Austria, had scrupulously prepared him for the responsibilities of reigning. Unfortunately, as a second son, he only inherited the throne in Vienna during the last two years of his life (1790–92). In 1765 he arrived in Tuscany and immediately proved himself open to innovation. During his regency he reformed governance from Palazzo Pitti into towards
1470-785: The waters scientifically for the first time. He also tells us that there were three baths in Montecatini; the Bagno Della Regina, the Bagno dei Merli and the Bagno Nuovo. Today the Bagno Nuovo is known as the Tettuccio. Conditions in the town during Medieval times were difficult, the region was plagued by epidemics, paludic diseases (attributed to the influence of marshes, such diseases including malaria) and wars. The battles locally between Florence, Pisa and Lucca, often forced townsfolk to seek refuge to
1512-405: Was Ferdinando III who came to rule when only 21 years old. He wavered in his support for Napoleonic rule, and by 1801 faced exile to Austria. Restored to rule on 10 June 1817, Ferdinando decreed the Bagni di Montecatini complex was granted to the community and they were given money to keep them efficient. On 18 June 1818 the baths were put under the management of a committee up of esteemed people of
1554-493: Was a member of the House of Medici . Born in Florence , Francesco was the son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany , and Eleanor of Toledo . He served as regent for his father Cosimo after he retired from his governing duties in 1564. On 18 December 1565, Francesco married Archduchess Joanna of Austria , youngest daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife Anne of Bohemia and Hungary . By all reports, it
1596-474: Was affected by epidemics of malaria. However the work was not completed successfully and resulted in pools of water being created where the water stagnated. In these muddy waters many men found death at the Battle of Montecatini in 1315. It is thought that Dante Alighieri participated in this battle. In 1328 the Medici came to power and the locks that had been dismantled with the reclamation were restored. In 1339,
1638-451: Was already a spa, thanks to the salt waters of the city, which later also flowed into the plain below. There is evidence for this in a document from 1340 which refers to the extraction of salt from the water. There is also proof in a letter sent by the merchant Francesco di Marco Datini in which he requests from his doctor the healing water of the Montecatini baths. Other evidence comes from the famous doctor Ugolino of Montecatini who examined
1680-607: Was ceased only two years afterwards. After the outbreak of the Second World War , publications decreased due to the lack of personnel, most of whom had been called up for military service. This led to a postponement of the 9th population census, which was instead held in 1951. Due to the Armistice of Cassibile in 1943, the institute headquarters were relocated within the territory of the Italian Social Republic . During
1722-403: Was made again to Francis I , son of Cosimo. However, he had to grant the use of the baths to the citizens of Montecatini. In those years, the population and the economy of the Valdinievole grew. However, between 1500 and 1756, there were repeated epidemics because of the flooding of the meadows, forests, fields, and pastures, due to the collapse of the bridge at Cappiano . During their regency,
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1764-431: Was not a happy marriage. Joanna was homesick for her native Austria, and Francesco was neither charming nor faithful. In 1578, Joanna died at the age of thirty-one, after falling down a flight of stairs while pregnant with their eighth child. Soon after Grand Duchess Joanna had died, Francesco went on to marry his Venetian mistress, Bianca Cappello , after aptly disposing of her husband, a Florentine bureaucrat. Because of
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