Cascina
Cascina is a town in the province of Pisa, set in the lower Arno valley plain between the river and the Pisan hills
Updated 21 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Cascina now
The story
The story of Cascina
Overview and Location
Cascina lies in the plain of the lower Arno valley, just a few kilometres from Pisa, along the route linking the provincial capital to Pontedera and the Valdera area. The municipal territory covers a wide flat area crossed by the Arno river, made up more of agricultural and craft-based hamlets than a single large urban centre. This position, halfway between the Tyrrhenian coast and the hills of the Pisan hinterland, has made Cascina over the centuries a place of passage and exchange, a crossroads between town and countryside, craftsmanship and agriculture, a trait that still defines the area's identity today.
History and Origins
Cascina's origins date back to the Middle Ages, when the settlement grew as an agricultural centre along the routes linking Pisa to its hinterland. The town's name is tied to a famous historical episode: in 1364, near Cascina, Florentine troops defeated the Pisans in a decisive battle. This clash became famous centuries later because Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned to depict it in a large preparatory cartoon for a wall of Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, in a kind of artistic rivalry with Leonardo da Vinci. The work, since lost, remains one of the best-known historical references tied to the name of Cascina.
Nature and Landscape
The landscape around Cascina is typical of the lower Arno valley plain: cultivated fields, tree-lined lanes, and the slow-moving Arno river crossing the municipal territory and marking its natural boundaries. Toward the hillier hamlets and the Pisan hinterland, the scenery softens into gentle rises and traditional crops. Its closeness to both the coast, only a few kilometres away, and the Pisan hills makes the area a balance point between agricultural plain and Tuscan hill country, ideal for quiet walks, cycling routes along the Arno, and direct contact with the Pisan countryside.
Things to Do and See
Cascina's historic centre is well suited to unhurried walks among civic buildings and small churches, in an urban fabric that is modest in scale and easy to explore on foot. Among the hamlets of the municipality, San Frediano a Settimo is worth a visit, home to an ancient Romanesque pieve, among the most significant in the Pisan area, bearing witness to the region's early medieval religious architecture. Cyclists can ride along the Arno's banks or country roads linking the hamlets, while craft lovers will find workshops tied to woodworking and furniture production, a tradition that has made Cascina a benchmark of the sector in Tuscany.
Flavours and Traditions
Cascina's table reflects the rural cuisine of the Pisan plain, made up of simple, genuine dishes based on garden vegetables, grains, and the extra-virgin olive oil produced in the nearby hills. Local restaurants and trattorias serve vegetable soups, homemade pasta, and meat dishes cooked in the Tuscan tradition, often paired with a good glass of local wine. Alongside its cuisine, the woodworking craft tradition remains a strong part of local identity: generations of families in the area have worked in furniture-making and trade, a practical know-how passed down from father to son that still shapes the local economy today.
Not to be missed
- The Romanesque pieve of San Frediano a Settimo
- A walk along the banks of the Arno river
- The craft workshops tied to the furniture-making tradition
- The historic centre of Cascina
- The rural hamlets and countryside of the lower Arno valley
To see
What to see in Cascina
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Cascina
Jobs · JobFlow
