Lancisa

Its name goes back to the wars between the Romans and the Gauls Boi and, more precisely, to a battle with a result in perfect Hollywood-style. The Gauls, outnumbered, resorted to all their cunning to defeat the enemies. They cut down the trees of the forest, and worked them patiently to sharpen their heads; then they put the trunks back in their place and waited for the Romans to pass along a path that they had studied and prepared. When the Romans passed, they threw the trunks at them, decimating their army and taking the victory. The battle took the name of Ancisa from the weapons the Gauls used against the invader.
However, this was the last glorious moment in the limelight for Lancisa. From then on, the village remained a place of passage and, as much as many other villages of transit, it has always been condemned to see wayfarers, pilgrims and travelers come and go. Indeed, it is located on the road that connects Spignana and Lizzano, which, in the past, were considered as departure points to reach even further destinations. Compared to its neighbors, it has always been somewhat in the shadows.
The most important building of the village is a small church, now completely abandoned and in bad condition, the oratory of the Santissima Annunziata. The church has a simple facade and a gabled roof while the inside, now in a state of neglect, has a single nave. Due to damage from age, rituals have not been performed since 1950. Outside the village, near the bridge in Verdiana, there is an ancient stone tabernacle named after the Madonna dei Pazzerelli, the only other religious reference of the village. The element that most distinguished Lancisa was a very high spruce in balance on the ridge. As often happens in history, however, these places that seem abandoned by fate and good luck are just the ones hiding the greatest treasures. Indeed, in Lancisa there are the remains of the fortress of “Castel di Mura”, an ancient castle with a very long history yet to be told. The fortress is located on top of Monte Castello, in a strategic position to guard the valleys of Lima and Verdiana. According to the chronicles, it was besieged by the Pistoians in 1303, which makes its construction and its development even more ancient. In the site you can see the remains of the walls, the watchtower, and the cistern that assured water for its inhabitants. Despite the evidences that we have, Castel di Mura is still full of mysteries to solve and stories to be told, definitely making it one of the most important cultural sites in the whole territory.