The town of San Casciano Val di Pesa is closed to Florence and it is rich in churches and villas built with a medieval style, such as the Castle of Bibbione. Information on San Casciano date to the Roman times. It was a "mansio", an outpost for the change of horses on the road to the ancient Florence. The Parish of Santa Cecilia, that rises near the Roman road, was called "a Decimo" because it was set near the tenth milestone, namely the precursor of our road-sings that indicated the distance of ten miles from Florence. Yet, the area had already been inhabited around the VII century b.C., at least according to the archaeological finds linked to the Etruscan civilization. In 1312, San Casciano was the place chosen by the emperor Arrigo VII to camp after the siege to Florence, but before arriving here, his brother, the archbishop of Treviri, preceded him and pillaged and destroyed numerous castles in the Val di Pesa. The troubled history of the town, which was influenced by its closeness to Florence, was just beginning. Shortly after, in effect, the village was razed to the ground by Castruccio Castracani's troops.
In 1343, Gualtieri di Brienne, who had got the power in the Tuscan regional capital, transformed San Casciano into Castel Ducale and fortified it with many walls. Yet, his escape from Florence caused the interruption of the works. In 1354, the army of Fra' Moriale D'Albano literally took the village as a hostage to obtain the payment of a ransom. This is when Florence decided to fortify the centre at its own expenses because its position made it available to bandits and enemy armies. With the arrival of the Medici, a more peaceful period started during which also some barriers were demolished, while the remains of the castle around San Casciano left their place to villas and farms. At this time of splendour, the Val di Pesa became the land of the Della Robbia, an illustrious dynasty of ceramists who spread their earthenware in the whole Tuscany. Unfortunately, San Casciano had to experience war once more. On the 26 July, 1944, the mines of the Nazi-Fascist troops that were withdrawing and a heavy bombardment carried out by the Allies' army hit the town again and caused severe damages and added the last dark chapter to this small village's history of devastations.