Attractions and Places To See in Area Naturale Protetta Di Interesse Locale Monte Castellare - Top 9

Villa Belvedere, also known as Villa Bosniaski or Polish villa, was built in 1881, on the apical spur of Monte Castellare above San Giuliano Terme, near Pisa, by the Polish Sigismondo De Bosniaski and for his wife Elisa di Rulikowski, Russian countess. The villa is built on two floors plus the basement and has a rectangular plan. The building was composed of 12 rooms equally arranged on the three floors in total. In the basement De Bosniaski had set up a sort of private museum of the Carboniferous plant fossils he owned. The water supply was guaranteed by some cisterns that received rainwater from the gutters of the villa itself and by some pipes that took water from the terraces made of dry stone walls for agriculture. To access the villa, a new road was built on the ridge of the mountain starting from Asciano in the locality of Asciano Valle. Another access is from the San Giuliano Terme side through a narrow path partially interrupted due to the limestone marble extraction quarries below. The villa was abandoned following the death of De Bosniaski, after which it was used by the Germans in the Second World War as an observation post. Currently the villa is an uninhabitable ruin as the roof has collapsed together with part of the attics. The villa is immersed in a garden of which the unusual floral species and fruit trees that still grow in the area surrounding the villa can still be seen today. Source Wikipedia (https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Belvedere_(San_Giuliano_Terme)

The ancient settlement is located in the Lucca area, but near the border with the province of Pisa, near the Passo di Croce where the old communication route between Pisa and Lucca passed and can be reached on foot from the pass itself. Some authors identify the area as the Hermitage of San Giuliano di Spelonca, others as S. Giorgio. The hermitage was founded in 1190 by the black hermits (by the priests magister Johannes de Petris, later called Honestus, and Dulcis). The founders were not hermits in the classical sense who chose solitude and meditation (eremos = alone), but groups of monks who decided to live together like the apostles, in poverty, in rather isolated places, even in contrast with the ecclesiastical institutions. They also dedicated themselves to the religious assistance of the population who lived in these places and who had difficulty reaching the churches. There were many hermit settlements in Tuscany and especially on the Monti Pisani, which some identify with the Mons heremita, which also appears in a fresco in the Camposanto monumentale of Pisa and in another in the church of S. Agostino in S. Gimignano. The many legends that exist regarding the presence of hermits on the Monti Pisani at the beginning of the Christian era and in the early Middle Ages are not, to this day, supported by documentary or archaeological evidence. The most evident construction currently is represented by a small single-hall church, from a later period than the foundation; the facade and the barrel vault are from 1800, but the structures, which also show a later extension that could have eliminated a previous apse, are of medieval origin. An uncommon case, there are interesting structures in its vicinity dug directly into the rock including a cistern with a quadrangular mouth, dug partly into the rock and partly into the cave room by means of a retaining wall, on which there are also stone supports and notches in the rock (probable support of wooden structures), a staircase with holes for a gate or door and a circular basin surrounded by channels, post holes and joints; furthermore, base rooms for probable structures of the hermitage are visible. Similar structures also seem to be present on the right side beyond the opening of the cave. From Comunedipisa.it

In addition to being a point on numerous trekking routes on the Pisan mountains, Passo Dante is a crossing point for those who, on the route between Lucca and Pisa, do not want to go through the tunnel but want to pass over it. The road is suitable for MTBs. Not suitable for gravel although I have seen some. There are points with sharp stones and very high steps, but the sloping section is not long, so it can be pushed if you fear for your safety.

HI! I'm doing my degree thesis in architecture on the redevelopment and reuse of Villa Bosniaski, I wanted to know if anyone has historical photos or other documents regarding the villa and the other surrounding buildings. Thank you!

Easy excursion suitable for families with children. The villa is now a ruin but can be visited internally on the ground floor and with the stairs to the room that will lead outside. However, be careful.

Easy hike. The villa is a ruin but can still be visited. However, pay due attention. Bring a sandwich and a beer for a good lunch or a nice snack with a view of Pisa

Beautiful panorama over the whole plain of Pisa. On the clearest days, you will see the Baptistery and the leaning tower very well, with the island of the gorgona and the capraia in the background. Easy hike to Polish or Bosniaski's villa or bel vista. Suitable for families

necessarily mountain shoes