I was born in Umbria, the green heart of Italy, land of the Etruscans, crossed by gentle hills covered with olive trees, vineyards, wheat field crops as far as the eye can see, rows of cypresses that frame hills and roads.
The origins of my family, my surname Casavecchia “Oldhouse” as my classmates used to call me, passed down from ancient times.
The Da Casavecchia, then Cattani Da Casavecchia, were a family of Florentine nobility.
The family takes its name from the Casavecchia locality located a few kilometers from San Casciano Val di Pesa.
History
The family already exists in 1093.
Ancient and very noble Tuscan family, with residence in Florence, Santo Spirito district, gonfalone Ferza, clear and avowed virtue, propagated, over the centuries, in different regions of Italy, with a large settlement in Abruzzo, and the world.
Known since the year 1093, the family exercised feudal rights over Casavecchia, from which it took its name, not far from San Casciano Val di Pesa, so as to prevent the parish priest of Santa Cecilia in Decimo to appoint the owner of the church of Santa Maria .
This was precisely one of the reasons that led them to clash with the Bishop of Florence, who owned feudal rights over the territory of San Casciano Val di Pesa. The battle lasted until 1241 when Cione, of Grullo, recognized the podestà sent by the Florentine chair.
At that time he exercised feudal rights over the town of Casavecchia so as to prevent the parish priest of Santa Cecilia from Decimo to appoint the owner of the church of Santa Maria.
“The first news about the church dates back to 1260, when his people pledged to pay a bushel of wheat to the town of Florence. In the Liber Extimationum, where all the damages caused by the Ghibellines are reported after the Battle of Montaperti, we read that a house belonging to this people owned by Cione dei Buondelmonti suffered damage to a tower. In tithes 1276, it is taxed for 8 Pisan liras, while in 1302 it has to pay 4.
The church was the patronage of the Da Casavecchia family, which took its name from here, until the middle of the XVII century, then the patronage passed to the Olivetan monks and the Pitti family.
It was suppressed in 1986 and united with the church of Sant’Andrea in Percussina.”
This was one of the reasons that led them to clash with the Bishop of Florence who owned feudal rights over the territory of San Casciano Val di Pesa. The battle lasted until 1241 when Cione di Grullo Da Casavecchia recognized the podestà sent by the Florentine chair.
For their territorial power and also because it considered ghibellini could not access the government of Florence until 1384. In that year Chiaro di Francesco changed his surname to Cattani, and, as they said, he was “a popular”, thanks to which he was elected Gonfaloniere di Giustizia, his position lasted from 1 July to 30 August 1384.
To have a Da Casavecchia appointed as head of some municipal authority, it was necessary to wait until 1459 when Banco di Francesco, due to his reputation as a scholar, a literary man, he was elected Prior.
Overall, the family speaks of five Priors of Florence and a Gonfalonieri di Giustizia.
In 1663, Maria Maddalena and Piera da Casavecchia left the Guidi heirs, with the obligation of a surname and an investigation on the coat of arms. Guidi Casavecchia or, more simply, Casavecchia.
Coat of arms of the Casavecchia family.
Casavecchia (Da) originating in the Florentine territory. Quoted in “Ceramelli Papiani Collection” held at the Florence State Archives, fasc. 1274.
From a chromatic and symbolic analysis of the emblem, we can finally draw some important information on the virtues associated with that surname. The blue being the color of the sky, represents the glory, the virtue and the incorruptible firmness; the lily, the noblest of all flowers, especially if gold, represents hope, the expectation of good, the purity, the candor of the soul, the clear fame, the benign prince and the right judge.
My passions.
Architecture: designing buildings, interior design, furnishing space and time.
Photography, video, music: the world of images, sounds, films, video editing, short films, collaborating for Fiction and TV programs.
Writer: Telling fantastic stories of experiences.
Computer technology: create 3D or 2D projects and graphics with the latest software.