Pieve Fosciana, Province of Lucca, Tuscany

The territory of Pieve Fosciana preserves prehistoric traces dating back to the Neolithic, and archaeological findings confirm the existence of settlements in Roman times. The name of the locality probably derives from the compound "pieve", with reference to an ancient church, and from the Latin name Fuscianus, to which it probably belonged. At the fall of the Roman Empire the territory was abandoned due to the barbarian invasions, only to be repopulated again during the Early Middle Ages. A document from 764 reports the name of one Gunduald of Lombard origin, who is said to have built the church of Santa Maria di Campori.

In the Middle Ages the town had considerable importance thanks to its parish which was the only building in Garfagnana where baptism could be administered. In the early 15th century a Franciscan preacher, the Blessed from Piegaro, was authorized by Pope Eugene IV to found two Franciscan convents in Garfagnana, one near Barga and another in Pieve Fosciana. Surrounded by an aura of sanctity, Ercolano died in 1451 in the convent of San Francesco "ai Frati", and his relics are still preserved in the church of Pieve.

Between the 12th and 15th centuries Pieve Fosciana was annexed to the Estensi Duchy of Modena, and remained so until the Napoleonic invasion. In 1814 it returned to the Este family until its annexation to the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. However, already in 1831 the tricolor flag was displayed in the town, the first time in Tuscany. At the end of the Second World War, Pieve Fosciana was in the immediate rear of the Gothic Line, suffering artillery and air bombings for seven months, until on April 20, 1945 was finally freed.